Vladimir Tod Goes to Hogwarts
by Alisia723
Summary: When Vlad got his letter, was he expecting a simple first year at Hogwarts? Well, that's certainly not what he got. With hiding his identity more crucial than ever and new enemies around every corner, how is he going to have time to deal with exams? (Re- write in progress) Chapter 2 reload complete
1. The Letter

**Thanks for reading. All feeback is appreciated. **

**(This is a re-load of the original. Chapters maybe traded out at any time with the revised versions... Once edits are complete the story will be continued from its current point).**

Bright light shone through a small window, just to the right of a twin-sized bed covered with black sheets and blankets, stirring the boy that slumbered within from his rest. He rolled over, lazily, picking the small alarm clock up from its resting place on his cluttered nightstand. He groaned; "8:30", the clock proclaimed smugly in deep red numbers. Far too early to be awake in the boy's opinion, especially on a Saturday! He didn't care if it was summer; weekends were still for sleeping in.

He glared down at the heap of blankets now adorning the floor to left of his bed in envy; the tall bed shaded the heap, protecting the heap's occupant from the devilish rays.

He peered at the heap for several moments; it didn't stir. Deciding it was best to just to go back to sleep, the boy cocooned himself in the blankets, turning his back on the morning light. 8:30 really was too early to wake, especially after staying up all night being absorbed by video games and gory horror movies. He let the images of their media adventures carry him away from his bedroom.

One moment the boy was standing above his fallen enemy, having saved the world and won the girl, the next his world was shaking and a booming voice rang out from the heavens, "Dude, seriously, wake up!"

Not wanting to abandon his dream world, the boy trashed and attempted to combat his enemy, but just as he thought he would reign victorious, he was back in his bedroom, now imprisoned by his cocoon and his best friend was staring down at him from his bed side.

"Ugh", his friend complained, "Get up, Vlad! Nelly made breakfast." The faint smell of cinnamon and icing reached the Vlad's nose, and he was up in record time.

"Come on, Henry!" he shouted back as he raced down the stairs, but Henry just rolled his eyes, then followed suit.

Before even greeting Nelly with a proper "good morning", both boys were gulping down their breakfasts. Henry had loaded his plate up with mountains of pancakes and bacon that could challenge Everest for the title of tallest mountain, and Vlad had chosen his favorite blood, O positive, from his dwindling selection along side a fat, gooey cinnamon roll, fresh from Nelly's kitchen oven. Nelly made the best cinnamon rolls ever in Vlad's opinion; with each bite, you step into a congenial heaven in which you, as the honored guest, are anointed with a cascade of luscious warmth and saccharine goodness.

If Vlad were to be honest, Nelly's gift in cinnamon roll genesis was her only redeeming culinary skill; her other culinary skills, which he didn't find particularly productive, included scorching even the most high quality pots and pans during their first usage and catching water on fire… not boiling water, catching it on fire; he won't have believed it either if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, multiple times.

By the time Vlad had his mug of blood heated and cinnamon roll. Henry had already managed to scarf down over half of his breakfast. Nelly chuckled subtly at their rush to get sustenance in their tummies.

"Vladimir, do you remember what today is?" Nelly asked, looking at her nephew expectantly, almost wondering if he had forgot in favor of thoughts on food.

Henry's head perked up at the words, pausing his impression of a vacuum cleaner to also gaze expectantly at Vlad.

"Uhh", Vlad stared back questioning them both with his eyes,"OH! It's my birthday!"

Henry looked at him, pityingly and patted him on the shoulder, "It's alright. Memory lapse are expected in your old age. I'm here for you if you should happen to forget your name next."

Vlad rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, trying to maintain an admonishing expression.

"Happy birthday, Vlad!" Nelly and Henry shouted breathily through their laughter.

"Well, you'll get your presents later, after cake. Oh. I almost forgot. This letter came for you today," she said choosing said letter from the small pile of mail, composed of an assortment of bills, ads, and other letters, which now adorned the counter space near their breakfast materials.

After plucking it from the stack, she extended her right arm to set it on the table before him.

It was very peculiar to him; he could think of anyone with a reason to write him or even send him a birthday card, for that matter. Vlad knew no one outside bathory, and the only people who really cared were surrounding him in that moment.

Despite the uncertainties, it was definitely for him; it had his full name and Nelly's address written on it. Actually reading the scrolled lettering on the envelope, he realized it didn't simply have the residential address but also the exact room in which he slept. His brow creased in suspicious curiosity; the letter was concealed in a thick envelope that had an aged appearance, and the words were written in a loopy, neat calligraphy. He turned it over and peered at the wax seal on the back. The seal resembled an organization crest; a shield divided with into fourths: a lion, a badger, a raven, and a serpent in each sector and an "H" in the center.

The emblem only seemed to confuse him further; if it was indeed the crest of an organization or institution, what could they possibly want with him? Unrealistic and horrifying conclusions began to swarm and buzz within his mind conquering all consciousness of reality.

Henry peered at the letter being him a moment of slight surprise; he really should have expected this. Less than a moment later a beaming grin slit across his face, "Looks like we'll be going to school together again this year!"

Henry's sudden announcement had brought Vlad back into reality causing him to turn his questioning gaze upon his friend; after another moments hesitation, Vlad decided the only way to get the answers he sought was to open the envelope and read. Pulling the parchment from within its confines, Vlad noticed it was the same material as the envelope and had the same sophisticated penmanship upon it.

"Dear Mr. Tod," it proclaimed, "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Vlad paused his reading to glance at Henry, who was sitting with that same grin; Vlad began to wonder if Henry had stretched the muscles so far that they would no longer return to their original states.

Vlad raised an eyebrow sharply, "Is this for real? Or is this your idea of some birthday joke?" His gaze alternated between the two suspects; but one glance at Nelly told Vlad she was just as confused as he.

"No jokes here. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"What exactly is this? A letter of acceptance? I haven't applied to any new schools."

Henry's face suddenly snapped back to normal; he got serious in that instant.

"Finish reading; then ask questions."

Vlad read the body of the letter with renewed enthusiasm; after finishing, he passed the letter over to Nelly. This Headmaster now had his undivided attention; so he began to question his friend: what was the emblem on the back representing, what would they be teaching, what would it be like, how had he already known so much, were werewolves, nymphs, goblins etcetera also real.

After the storm of questions had subsided, a thick silence settled upon the room; with both Nelly and Vlad processing the facts and formulating ideas on the future year.

"Wow," Nelly breathed out, sounding utterly mystified, "That's incredible."

It sounded like an amazing world; a fantasy that she could barely imagine. She felt an ember of envy breath life within her; yet she wouldn't allow it to pollute her joy for both boys' futures.

She turned to Vlad, smiling motherly at him, "Do you want to go? It's entirely up to you."

Vlad screwed up his face, contemplate his options and the new door revealed by the letter. The world Henry had described was beyond any child's fantasy; it would be an escape from Bathory, from the reminder that things weren't as they should be. If he didn't go, he would be alone, aside from Nelly; there would be no Henry, no one to pass the days with, yet if he went, he would be leaving Nelly completely alone.

She seemed to catch on to his woes; smiling, she stated endearingly, "You don't have to worry about me. Don't pass up this opportunity because of me; it sounds like an impossible adventure. Besides you could use a change of pace, I think."

"_Was Nelly now telepathic as well? Or was he just easy to read?_" Vlad wondered idly in that moment.

He seemed to catch the infectious grin, "Guess you won't be rid of me after all."

Henry beamed at this, "I think I can put up with you for a few more years."

**I won't make up excuses for why I haven't updated except: Computer broke/ Didn't want to buy new one~ Lots of other work with classes and job~ Drama~ I'm lazy… that about sums up my bullshit. **

**~~~MESSAGE **to readers:

If you have stuck with me through the long wait, I thank you so much. I know I took a ridiculously long time to update, and I know it's irritating to wait so long, especially when you don't know why. (Most of my top favorites have become discontinued.) And if you are new to my story, welcome; I hope you have enjoyed it thus far and will continue to read.

Like I said at the top of the story, I will be editing each chapter on both minor and major scales because for one, re-reading this original chapter… I have so many issues with it, and it's been so long that I need a memory refresher on the content.

Finally, I do have most of the course of this story planned (it simply a matter of typing it up), but not the ending.

Okay I lied these are my final two points… I will **not** be discontinuing this story. It may take time, but I have the full intentions of finishing this. My second point is that I have a fairly busy schedule, but I will update as often as I can.

(….. This sounds like some speech but really it's just a footnote in a fanfic.) -_-"


	2. Diagon Alley

**This is reload of the original chapter 2. Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a review. **

Words couldn't summarize the suspense and excitement that had been building within Vlad's consciousness; he felt like a volcano that had far exceeded its dormant period, ready to erupt at any moment.

It was completely unbelievable really, even to Vlad; and he had been there to witness it all. He had touched the letter, read the words, listened to Henry's immaculate and lengthy tales, yet even through his immense joy, he could feel a kernel of uncertainty, just big enough to remain in foreground of his mind.

The entire situation, something about it still bothered him. How could he have never known he was capable of magic? He was a vampire, for f*ck-sake; he knew things beyond the norm existed.

Thoughts of what he would see there began to bubble up: magical items (wands and cauldrons), magical spells (to make things appear and to make things levitate), magical creatures (werewolves and giants); Vlad halted the images in their attempt to overload his brain… magical creatures that could mean other vampires. He wouldn't be out of place, isolated when Henry wasn't by his side; a new flame of excitement ignited his gut and began to blaze feverishly.

From what Henry's tales, which he had gotten from his elder brother, foretold, the school would more of a castle and they would be entering a world of frightening and mystifying truths. The stories were incredible really, but they gave Vlad even more uncertainties: Who was Henry really? Vlad had told Henry he was half-vampire, yet Henry didn't tell him he was a half-blood wizard. He suddenly felt an icy breeze cut through him, extinguishing his feverish flame and leaving him to freeze.

When Vlad found out his best and only friend had been keeping who he was secret, he felt no anger, only the cold agony of isolation and loneliness. It felt as though the person he trusted most didn't trust him at all. He relied so heavily on Henry at times, yet he wasn't able to extend the same supportive grip.

As Henry noticed the corners of Vlad's mouth reaching toward the earth, pulling the rest of his face along for the ride, he quickly explained how he had wanted to tell him but his mother's shaking fist and sharp, threatening words had kept his lips sealed tight.

In that moment, the sorrow and cold were flushed from his system. It had been his decision to tell Henry, and it wasn't just Henry's secret to tell; it was an entire world's.

Vlad snapped back to reality and tried to focus on what the present Henry was teaching him.

"Okay, so basically, you walk into the fire place."

"You want me to climb into a three foot high hole in the wall?"

"Take the floo powder," Henry instructed ignoring Vlad's comment, as did a small demonstration, "state your destination, and then throw the powder down at the hearth. You'll come out from another fireplace at your destination. Ya got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. So where is this place we're going to called again?"Vlad asked forgetting the name again.

"Diagon Alley. But say it right and clearly… Or you never know where you might come out." Vlad simply nodded in response.

"You, boys, sure you'll be alright going there by yourselves?" Nelly asked with concern in her voice.

"Don't worry, Nelly. I've been there loads of times. We'll back before you know it", Henry said reassuringly.

"Well," Nelly said nervously, "I don't know. You two going alone; it's not like this place is just outside Bathory."

"Well, we could ask Greg to come along," Henry suggested hesitantly, sighing, "Mom would probably chew me out for going just the two of us anyway." He had been hoping the two of them could go alone; but should the queen of almighty discipline find out… He shivered at the retribution for such an offense.

That seemed to satisfy Nelly, "Okay, just stay together."

Vlad beamed. "We will!" Vlad replied hurriedly, eager to go as soon as possible.

After what seemed like an eternity in the wake of Vlad's suspense, Greg was standing in Nelly's living room, Nelly was fussing, and Vlad and Henry were down twenty dollars.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Greg stated, turning to his younger brother, "Henry, did you explain to Vlad about the currency?"

"Huh? Oh right! Our money is different from any used in the muggle world. First, there's the galleon," Henry explained, rooting through the content of his pockets until finding one.

"It's worth about 17 sickles," Greg continued, as Henry pulled one from the coins, which had resided his pockets. Pulling a smaller bronze coin from Henry's collection, Greg continued his explanation, "And this is a knut. There are about 29 knuts in a sickle. And 493 in a galleon."

"One problem," Vlad commented, as he attempted to memorize the equivalents, "I don't actually have any of those."

"Don't sweat it. Just bring all your money, and we'll exchange it. There are currency exchanges in Diagon Alley for just about all muggle currency."

"Oh, okay," Vlad replied, "Be right back!"

Vlad raced to his bedroom, doing his best impression of a stampeding elephant parade along the way. He opened his secret box, removing all the money with one swift swoop. He was back in the living in record time with his prize. Nelly pulled his over to give him a quick hug and slip some extra money to him.

When he was about to say something, she simply said, "We don't know how much the dollar will translate to. You might need some extra. Now be careful and have fun... But be back before ten." Her sincere tone changed quickly to one of worry that guaranteed consequences should her words go unheeded.

"_She can really be overly protective sometimes," _He thought to himself, but he thanked her just the same.

"Alright! We all ready to go now?" Greg asked Henry and Vlad.

"Uh-huh." "Yeah."

" I'll go through first and show you how to use the floo powder," Greg said to Vlad.

Vlad simply nodded, watching closely as Greg ducked into the fireplace. Nelly's fireplace was clearly not made with wizards in mind. Greg crouched low as he took the powder from Henry in his right hand before announcing sharply in command, "Diagon Allley". He threw down the powder and was gone in a fury of green flames. Vlad's eyes widened; hearing a description of floo travel and seeing it in action were on two completely different levels.

"That was awesome!" Vlad exclaimed, watching the remainder of the flames fade before vanishing, leaving no trace but a small collection of powder on the hearth.

He looked back at Nelly and Henry. Nelly was completely mystified. Her eyes went glassy; she was lost to the world in that moment, but Henry acted as though he had just watched Greg leave on foot, not in a green inferno.

"Yeah, pretty sweet, huh?" Henry wouldn't lie; Floo was much faster than any form of muggle transportation, but it wasn't anything special. Apporating, on the other hand, was something he really wanted to try. "You're up."

Vlad was a little anxious about trying it himself. Henry had said if he messed, there was no telling where he would end up or if he would be found.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. I didn't get lost the first time, and I'm sure you won't either."

Vlad looked at him, apprehensive, but he felt a little more confident. He turned his gaze upon Nelly, reassuring her, "Bye, we'll be back in a bit."

Nelly smiled at him; her smile seemed to condone feelings of loss, as though this was the first step toward setting him free, like a mother bird about to push one of her hatchlings from the nest in order to force him to learn to fly.

Vlad walked over to Henry and took a large hand full of powder. There could be no more postponing. Vlad ducked into the fireplace, mindful not to hit his head on the stone in the process. After mimicking Gerg's demonstration, he was wrapped in green fire; the cool flames brushing his flesh like a refreshing breeze.

A moment passed and the breeze was gone taking Nelly and all of Bathory with it. He stepped out of the unfamiliar fireplace; peering around him, he saw many similar fireplaces. Was this like a floo station? He saw green flames spew out from the fireplace beside him before Henry stepped out.

"About time. Thought I was going to have a bulletin in the Prophet: Reward! Lost little brother," Greg called out, strolling toward them, dramatizing his plans.

"Aw. You'd really pay someone to bring me back to you, brother," Henry fake whimpered back while pretending to throw himself at his brother, "I always knew you cared!"

Vlad couldn't suppress a small laugh at their antics; at times it seemed easier, or maybe convenient is the better word, to have no siblings, but other times, it was lonely. It felt like he was missing out on this great bond that so many shared.

The three of them walked to the end of the long corridor of fireplaces, which Vlad had already dubbed 'the floo station', toward the door, which would lead them into Diagon Alley. As soon as they stepped out of the threshold, Vlad was forced into a state of awe.

It was all so amazing; there were shops packed together, lining both sides of the streets. Each shop appeared to their specialty trade. There was a shop that sold owls and other seemingly odd pets, one that sold cauldrons and viles, one with spell books, and so many more; Vlad couldn't keep his facial muscles in check, openly gawk at everything they passed. The one that manage to completely capture his attention was a store not far from the floo station. He slowed his pace for a few moments to examine at the shop.

The shop was quite larger than its neighbors; there were kids of all ages engulfing the building tightly, like extra paneling. It was a broom shop with a stock of nearly every type available. However, the group's main focus seemed to be one broom in particular. With Vlad's superior hearing, he could hear their conversations from his place by the opposing buildings.

The broom was called the nimbus 2000 and was supposedly the newest and fastest model yet. Vlad hadn't given the prospect of flying much thought, but looking at the other children's wonder and excitement made him want to try. Technically, he could already float without assistance, but with a broom, a person could actually fly.

"The new nimbus looks awesome! I haven't had a chance to see it yet," Henry commented, voice changing from an excited one to one with some disappointment, "But first years like us can't take one to school. Only second years and up."

"Too bad. Have you ever ridden one?" He looked at Henry expectantly, hoping to hear what it was like to use a broom.

"A few times, but I don't have my own yet."

"C'mon, guys," Greg said to the two of them, his voice shaking them from their trance-like state and reminding them of the tasks at hand.

They reluctantly left the brooms behind and continued down the street. Vlad questioned Greg about where they were going first. He told him that before looking about they were going to exchange Vlad's money with Mr. Brans. Vlad nodded in understanding, recalling their discussion from earlier.

As they walked down the street Vlad looked about, examining the shops and shoppers intently. One thing he had noticed about them was that they weren't dress in the clothes that Vlad was used to seeing. Nearly everyone was wearing elaborate and dark colored robes that gave Vlad a feeling of having stepped back in time.

Vlad continued his examination until they reached there destination; the shop was quite dingy looking and appeared to be the smallest shop in Diagon Alley, but upon entering the shop, Vlad saw that the inside was much larger than he had expected. The inside was huge in fact; it was one big room with shells of thing that Vlad say every day. They were typical everyday things, like toasters, televisions, bicycles, and rubber ducks. Muggle items. Just as they reached the counter in the middle of the store, a middle-aged man with light brown hair walked out from the back room.

"Hello. How can I help you today?" the man offered with a friendly smile.

"We would like to make a trade with you," Greg replied simply.

The man's eyes glistened with intrigue. "And what do you have to trade?"

On cue, Vlad pulled out his wallet from his pocket and handed the money to the man. After giving the money a quick exam, the man smiled slightly.

"Alright, will this suffice in exchange?" he asked laying his offer out on the counter in front of them.

"_Wow,"_ Vlad thought to himself. It seemed like a lot by comparison.

Greg took a step closer, examining the coins with a scrutinizing gaze. He nodded and replied, "Seems like a fair trade."

Vlad collected his new currency, sweeping it from the counter into his hand to be placed in its temporary new home, his pocket.

The man nodded in return, "Thank you for your patronage. Come again."

They shuffled out of the shop in line and proceeded in the direction they came. As they walked, curiosity got the best of Vlad, "Why was that guys interested in the money? And why were there some many of the everyday things, like the televisions."

"Some wizards, mostly open-minded purebloods, become interested in the muggle world. They collect things like the televisions you saw or even the money you trade to him since they are foreign and fascinating to them," Greg explained and after a pause he continued, "I've already finished my shopping, so it's only you two we need to shop for."

They continued down the street until the reached a bookstore with the name Flourish and Blotts displayed on the shop. "Might as well take care of the simple stuff now."

They headed into Flourish and Blotts, pulling out their lists as they crossed the threshold. The paper contained a list of all their first year books: _The Standard Book of Spells_ by Miranda Goshawk, _A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot, _Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling, _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch, _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore, _Magical Drafts and Potion_by Arsenius Jigger, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander, and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self- Protection _by Quentin Trimble. It was a lengthy list, but all were easy to find, out on open displays with related novels and sequels to promoting the merchandise to student shoppers.

After paying for all the books, they found their pockets significantly lighter and the arms much heavier. The man at the counter seemed to notice and offered to hold their books so long as they returned for them before close. They gratefully accepted his offer and passed their stacks to him, which he placed on a vacant shelf beneath the counter. They thanked him profusely on their way out, promising to get their books before closing.

Their next destination was just a few doors up; it was the same store Vlad had seen earlier with rows of traditional and elaborately designed cauldrons on display in the storefront windows. The sign proclaimed "Potage's Cauldron Shop". They were walked calmly, or perhaps unenthusiastically, into the store. Their list was very specific about which one they needed: A pewter cauldron, standard size 2. So they walked over to the pile of them. Each selecting one that hadn't suffered the wrath of some first year that came before them; half the cauldrons appeared to have already reached their final resting place after far too many years of use.

In the store next-door, simply entitled "The Telescope Shop", they picked up their required telescopes and did the same as they had in the last store: paid and left. "See, like I said," Greg commented, "take care of the simple stuff first. Then move on. Well next, we might as well head over to get both of you your school robes. That will take some time."

They headed toward a shop across the street with a sign saying that it was "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions". They walked up to it and proceeded inside. It was only seconds after they had walked in that they were both swept off to be fitted for robes. They were taken into a room with several stools and mirrors. There were already two boys there, getting fitted for robes. One had pale skin and very light blonde hair; the other had somewhat tanner skin than the first with black hair and glasses.

"Alright. You're done, deary," the woman said to the black haired boy. And the boy hurried to leave, mimicking the signs of an escaping prey.

"C'mon, dears," another seamstress said to Vlad and Henry, "You both getting your Hogwarts robes as well?"

"Yes," they replied quickly.

"Then step up on those two stools there," she said, gesturing to the two stools next to the blonde boy. They complied; Henry stepped up onto the one next to the blonde boy, and Vlad taking the one on Henry's other side while Greg simply leaned on the wall behind them. Soon another seamstress scuttled into the room, quickly slipping robes over both boys heads and beginning to tailor them.

"Hello," the boy said to them shortly.

"Hey," Vlad and Henry greeted back in unison.

"First year at Hogwarts?" He asked.

"Yeah! You too?" Henry replied, trying to remain friendly despite the boy's apparent condescending nature.

"Yes. Know what house you'll be in?" He questioned.

"Not sure yet. Greg's in Gryffindor though," he answered, giving a slight gesture in his bother's direction

A sneer spread across the boy's face. "Oh really?" he said, disgust evident in his tone.

"Yes. You have a problem with it?" Greg questioned.

"Hm… not really. Guess you like being a suck up then," the blonde retorted, bluntly.

Greg couldn't resist rolling his eyes but managed to suppress a groan of irritation. He couldn't believe he was arguing with an eleven-year-old, an arrogant and rude eleven-year-old, but an eleven-year-old nonetheless. This thought held him for a minute before he decided to respond with a bit of amusement in his tone, "Guessing you're going to be a slimy snake, then."

The boy became angry and defensive. "There's nothing slimy about Slytherin; it's a noble house exclusive to powerful purebloods with great future. My family's been in Slytherin for generations. What about you? What house do you want?"

"Uh... I'm not really sure yet. They all sound pretty good to me," Vlad said, deciding to exclude himself from the brewing tension, plus he didn't know anything about the houses to get involved.

"Well, no one really knows 'til they get there, do they," he said in reply, "What are your names anyway? I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Henry McMillan," Henry said.

"Greg McMillan," Greg said shortly.

"Vlad Tod," Vlad said.

"Never heard of any of you," he retorted survey each, "What blood are you? I'm a pureblood." His last sentence was broadcasted on a different level entirely.

"Me and Greg are half- bloods," he said simply. _"Great. So he's one of those types.. Bigots, the lot of them. Actually caring about someone else's blood and heritage," _Henry thought, becoming increasingly annoyed with Malfoy.

"And you? You're not some mudblood, are you?" He turned his narrowed gaze on Vlad, dissecting him, molecule-by-molecule, searching for deficiency.

"I'm not really sure. My parents never mentioned anything about magic before they died, so I guess I'm muggle-born." Vlad said, suddenly feeling as though that was the worst thing possible.

Malfoy looked Vlad over from head to toe, face pinched in an expression of abhorrence.

Vlad felt his temper flare at the other's look, his blood beginning to boil as the tension in the room reach its highest peak.

Vlad now saw why the boy before them was in such a rush to leave. This boy gave off the impression of a snake seeking prey to capture and torture before devouring. He could feel Malfoy preparing to move in for another attack before he delivered the killing blow.

"Enough quarreling, you lot!" Said one of the seamstresses, sensing the pending battle of words and eventually fists. "Now you may leave, Mr. Malfoy. You robes are finished, and your father already handled payment."

She slipped the robes back off over Malfoy's head before boxing them up. With robes in hand, he strutted out the shop door without another word to any of them

"What a prick!" Greg said irritated.

"Let's just forget him... and hope that we don't see him in school," Vlad said, eager to forget the incident.

"Yeah, I hope not too," Henry chimed in, his tone doubtful.

"So why did he care so much about blood?"

"I've heard of the Malfoys before," Greg explained, "Apparently the whole family were Death Eaters during you-know-who's reign of terror. Some say they still are."

"They eat death?" Vlad questioned in dubious tone.

"No, it's the organization's name," he continued hesitantly, "They were supporters of the darkest wizard our world has ever seen, a wizard so feared and menacing that no one even dare say his name. Everyone just called him You-know-who. But he lost power and vanished about ten years ago, after being defeated by Harry Potter. Though there are some dark wizards who still support him and practice their old ways in his absence."

At Greg's pause, Vlad's confusion peaked, "So what's that have to do with what blood you are?"

"You-know-who's original goal was to get rid of muggle-borns and to reign over both worlds."

Vlad's express seemed to seek more of an explanation, so Greg offered the only explanation he could manage, "As far as I know, all Death Eaters came from Slytherin House. Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts and original Head of Slytherin House, believed that muggle-borns couldn't be trusted and that only purebloods should be permitted to study and practice magic. The discrimination against muggle-borns is likely derived from his beliefs, or at least that's my best guess."

"Alright, you're all done now," the seamstresses informed them.

After their robes were paid for and packaged, they left the store. They had been in that store for the longest and were eager to move on. They migrated up the street after that picking up the remaining items on their lists; and soon only one item remained on the list: wands. This was what Vlad had been waiting for all day; he could feel the anticipation and jubilation bubbling up. Wands: the icon of magic, the key that would unlock this new world to him and enable him to use his new found gift. The shops had all been enchanting, even the way they arrived had been, but this would be by far the best part of the trip.

They had finally arrived. The store wasn't nice or attention grabbing; in fact, it was a rather a dingy and shabby, small shop. However, it was what was in the shop that mattered to Vlad and Henry. It was the local wand shop; the shop sign said it was "Olivanders: Makers of Finer Wands, Since 382 B.C". Vlad took a deep breath suddenly feeling a little nervous as they walked through the shop's front door.

"Relax, guys," Greg said to Vlad and Henry, "You'll be fine."

They wandered in slowly, looking about as though they had entered an entirely new, exotic world. There were towering stacks of thin, long boxes that reached up to the ceiling in a rickety formation. Suddenly, an old man, thin with white hair, appeared in front of them. He peered at them silently, studying them for a moment as if he were examining their very souls.

"Ah. Mr. McMillan," the man, Mr. Olivander, said revealing a knowing smile, "Here for your first wand, then."

Olivander walked briskly over to the stacks of boxes without waiting for a reply of conformation. After a few moments, he came back with one of the boxes, opening it revealed a long, sleek black wand.

"Ebony. 10 ½ inches with a core of hair from the mane of a Kelpie. Good for all types of spells."

He thrust the wand into Henry's grasp before taking a step back. Henry raised it after a moment and gave it a light swish. The front desk promptly split down the middle with a single clamorous crunch before meeting the floor with a deafening thump that broke through the shocked silence. The group stood in horrified silence, unsure what to do except Olivander who seem to have been unsettled but not entirely surprised.

"No, definitely not," Mr. Olivander said hurriedly voice strained, taking the wand from Henry before he could do anymore damage to the shop. He walked back into the maze of small black boxes, placed the box back where it had been, and grabbed another box.

Carrying it over to Henry, He opened it up to reveal a simple, yet well crafted wand. It was light tan with a darker handle that had different ridges in the handle.

"Give this one a go. Rosewood. 13 ½ inches with a core of unicorn hair," he explained handing the wand to Henry.

He gave it a light swish and bright, vibrant sparks of blue light shot from the end of the wand, starling Henry.

"Awesome," both Vlad and Henry said in amazement.

As Vlad watched the small display, he was mystified by the sparks and anxious as it was now his turn.

"_But what if something went wrong? What if none accepted him?" _thoughts like these began to race through his mind as he became increasingly anxious. He wasn't your typical wizard after all something could happen or so was his excuse.

"Well, there you have it, your new wand," Olivander said with a proud smile.

"You're next, mate," Henry said to Vlad, without looking at him, distracted by his new wand.

Vlad stepped up, and Mr. Olivander looked at him.

"I don't think I've had any of your relatives through here. You must be a muggle born. What's your name?" Olivander questioned.

"Vlad Tod."

Then Mr. Olivander proceeded to go back into the stacks of wand and pick out one of the small box from in a large pill of them. He came back from amidst the mountainous stacks of wands. He opened the box and handed the wand to Vlad, who took it, and after a deep breath, he swished the wand. After a moment of nothing, a pile of black boxes full of wands came crashing to the floor, like tidal wave. Vlad gasped and jumped back from the mess.

"S-sorry," he apologized quickly.

"It's alright. Happens all the time," he said nonchalantly before giving a light flick of his wand to restack the fallen boxes and another spell to fix the front desk that Henry had broken.

After completing repairs, he took the wand and box back to the newly re-piled stack of boxes. He went to another stack and selected a new box. This one was all black and appeared to have better craftmanshift then the previous wand.

"This one is made of Ebony wood with a phoenix talon core. 14 inches," he said as he handed the second wand to Vlad.

He took it and gave it a light swish, feeling uneasy. After less than a moment's pause, violet and black sparks shot from the end, startling and exciting Vlad at the same time. He was completely ecstatic, wearing a bright, wide grin on his face. He looked up at Mr. Olivander, Henry, and Greg. They all smiled back, a little amused by his enthusiam.

"Now it's official," Henry said, grinning; Vlad grinned in return. They both officially had their wands and were nearly ready to leave for school.

"How much are they?" Vlad asked Olivander, breaking the moment.

"Seven Galleons."

Vlad nodded; he and Henry took each took out the owed amount and handed the money to Mr. Olivander.

"Take care of yourselves. And your wands; you only find one true wand. And none will work for you as well as it."

"Of course. Bye," they said as they headed out throught the door.

They were back out on the streets; the only thing left to do was to retrieve their books.

"What time is it?" Henry asked Greg, as they treaded along.

"Nearly time for us to head back, or Vlad might be in trouble with Nelly," he replied.

"Too bad," Vlad said sounding rather disappointed.

"Yeah," said Henry sounding equally disappointed, "Maybe we should have left sooner."

"It's not like you guys can't come back." Greg said to them simply.

They nodded and continued down the street but at a brisker pace. They finally finished their shopping and were now headed back to "the floo station". After a short time, they reach the building and proceeded in. They each took some floo from the holders adjacent to their fireplaces and, after giving their farewells, went their separate ways.

Vlad saw Henry, then Greg leave for their home. He paused taking a look back out the sooty windows before stepping into the fireplace to be whisked away in a sea of green flames that would carry him back to Nelly's.


	3. The Headmaster

**Well, once again it took longer than I thought to update. All break I wasn't home doing nothing and able to update until now. It's been busy, but it doesn't really help that I'm the queen of laziness and procrastination. Well, here's the next chapter, hope you like it.**

**Beep! Beep! Beep!** Vlad sat bolt upright looking around having been started by the obnoxious noise coming from his alarm clock. He turned and glared at it.

"_Damn thing..."_ Vlad thought as he hit the off button silence the worst invention ever.

It had really startled him, but maybe be he should have been grateful. I had woke him up from another dream about _that _day. It had already been a year since the fire, and he was still haunted by the memories and his feeling of lose, like there was a piece of him missing. He then flopped back down on his bed and rolled over, pulling the covers up to his chin. He closed his eyes and attempt to fall back to sleep.

After about 30 minutes, he decided to give up and get up. There was no way he was going to manage to go back to sleep now or clear thoughts of his dream and forget the memories that plagued him. He groanned and threw the covers off. He placed his feet down on the floor and headed down the stairs. He needed something to distract himself. Complete silence filed the house.

"_Nelly must have already left," _Vlad thought to himself as he yawned and reached the bottom the stair case.

He walked to kitchen and took out a blood bag from the freezer and put in a mug, then the microwave. He also grabbed a cinnamon roll and his mug after the microwave beeped. He sat them both down on the table and look at his letter that was sitting on the table not far from him. He picked it up and smiled.

"_This is going to an exciting new school year," _he thought to himself_. _

He pulled it out again intending to read it again, when suddenly anew folded paper fell out that he hadn't noticed before. He raised a questioning eyebrow and picked it up and unfolded it. Then read it: "Dear Mr. Tod, I will be meeting with you on August 1st at 11 a.m. to discuss the arrangements of your enrollment. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore."

His eyes widdened, _"Does this mean the headmaster already knows what I am?"_

Vlad turned to the clock on the wall. He started to become increasingly uneasy it was already 10:50, the headmaster would be there in only 10 minutes. He finished his blood and cinnamon roll. Just in case Dumbledore didn't already know what Vlad was, he figured it would be best to finish it before he arrived.

After several minutes, the clock stuck 11 a.m. and within moments Vlad heard aloud pop noise from behind him. He jumped and quickly turned around, only to come face to face with a much older and taller man with a long white beard and half moon spectacles, and he wore a slight, friendly smile on his face.

"Hello, Vladimir," the man said in a cheerful tone, "I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at hogwarts.

"Oh... uh, hello." he respond only relaxing slightly.

"I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing here, but there are a few things we need to discuss about your first year at our school," he stated simply.

"Hm. Alright," Vlad responded a little curious.

"Why don't we sit down? This could be an extended conversation," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the stairs at Nelly's kitchen table.

"'Kay," he said not really sure what else to say. They both took a seat at the table.

"Before we begin our conversation, I should probably inform you that I'm aware of the fact that you are half human and half vampire." Vlad's eyes widened; that wasn't really helping him to relax.

"_Maybe being a vampire isn't so uncommon in their world... Maybe be being different isn't as different as it is here."_

"Not being human or not entirely being, it isn't that strange in our world. However, there are still people and many of them who are judgmental of those people or those who are different from them. Lately, it's becoming a bit of a problem, even in the wizarding world. But this year, we are trying to change that."

After a short pause he continued, "This year I have accept in a great number of students who are unique like you. I want them to understand that we really aren't all that different and to change their opinions forever. I want them to be able to accept those around them for who and what they are. So, I've accepted vampires who were turned at a young enough age they could attend the school, child who were turned into werewolves, some who have giant or dwarf blood, and also some squibs or muggle children with magical siblings. There will also be a few teachers who will be participating.

We are planning that all the students will enter into the school and the other students will be told that there are students among them who are different. However, we will not tell them which they will all interact and mingle, possibly become friends. They will then at the end of the year reveal what they really are if they wish to do so. To prove my point to the students and possibly even some of the staff."

Vlad listened intently throughout the man's explanation. It had sounded like a interesting idea, and he would get to meet other vampire and other people like him. Maybe even other half vampires? He contemplated his decision.

"Alright," Vlad responded, "I'll participate in your experiment; it sounds like an interesting idea. I only have one question though. How am I supposed to hide what I am? I can't go a whole semester without eating."

"Ah, yes. That has already been planned out for both you and the other vampire students. The blood will be mixed in with your pumpkin juice at each meal and dyed so as not to arise suspicion. No one will be able to tell as long they don't drink it. And if you ever need more than that go down into the kitchen and ask the house elves to bring you some they will have some stored. By the way, the kitchen is down near the dungeons. If you go down, you'll see a painting of fruit; you tickle the pear, you can find the kitchen."

Vlad nodded simply. That was a bit of a relief; he wouldn't have to worry about it much then.

"Well, then I best be off. I have a few more places to stop today. I pleased that you will also be attending and helping with my idea. Good day."

"Good day," Vlad responded, just before there was another loud pop sound and the man was gone again. Vlad was going to tell Henry about this and about what was happening their first year when he came over tomorrow.

**Hope you liked the story and will review. That's it for now. Promise in the next chapter he'll meet more characters from HP and will officially start his first year. And I'll to get the next chapter up sooner but I'm not going to guarantee it. **


	4. Evil Intentions

**HI! Yet again sorry the update took so long... I lost track of time with hanging out, school, babysitting, job hunting.. oh and getting kicked out of the band I helped START... bunch of asses they are. But aside from that here's the new chapter hope you like it. Oh and I lied this isn't a chapter of Vlad's 1st day.. though that should be up in a few days or if I have time today I'll put it up. This chapter is IMPORTANT though it's one where it tells you about the enemies and their plans kind of. Anyway, ENJOY! =3**

Voldemort and Quirinus _Quirrell_ were both becoming increasingly agitated. They had been waiting at the purposed place of meeting for nearly 20 minutes. They were standing in a dark, secluded area in Knockturn Alley.

"_Where is that fool?" _Voldemort thought to himself as he became more and more annoyed by the moment.

If this meeting weren't so important he would have had Quirrell leave long ago, but this meeting was crucial to his return and his victory. Though he was angry, he would have to restrain from having the man killed. He was too valuable at the moment for that. Once he had what he wanted, there was nothing that would stop him from simply killing the man, the vampire. He didn't particularly like the idea of working with a vampire, but to obtain his goal, it might just be necessary.

Finally after five more minutes, Quirrell spotted the man they had been waiting to meet and he informed Voldemort, because he obviously couldn't see the man or anything for that matter, through the thick material of Quirrell's turban.

"Took you're time, didn't you," Voldemort said rudely to the man as he approach them.

"Hmph," came a cold reply, "I had some trouble along the way. Now what do say to our making a deal?"

"Maybe, we could possibly work together on this task. You help me kill the Potter boy and Dumbledore," he said in return, "And in return, I'll help you capture this Vladimir Tod."

"Yes. Then we have reached an agreement," the vampire responded.

"It appears we have, D'ablo."

"Good," D'ablo responded with a curt nod and turn on his heel heading back the way they came.

Little did the other know, they both had something else up their sleeve. They had another plan they had chosen not to share. In the end, they would double cross each other to capture Vladimir Tod and obtain all his abilities. The Only question that remained was... Who will win that battle?


	5. New Assignment

**Yay! next chapter! Hope you like it! I promise the next chapter will DEFINITELY be Vlad's first day and I might be able to get it up today too.**

Joss McMillan yawned slightly and stretched his tired limbs as he walked stiffly and lowly down the halls of the headquarters of the Slayer Society.

"_Why did they have to send for him so early in the morning? Was it a new assignment?"_

These questions passed through his mind. Finally, he reached the door to the head's office, which was located at the end of he hall and was a level all its own in the building. He slowly approached the door as a rather frightening thought entered his mind.

"_What if he had done something wrong and was to face punishment?"_

He had heard stories about the kind of punishments they would give to slayers, but he was unaware of any resent mistakes. After a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"You may enter," a voice came from the on the other side of the door; one filled with a authority and demanded respect.

Joss complied turning the knob and pushing the door open gently. The door opened to reveal a large corporate looking office. He step inside, closing the door behind him. The man at the large, black desk looked up at him and gave him a sign meant to tell him to come forward. He did so.

"Joss, I hear you are the best of the new slayers and haven't failed a single mission since you joined us."

"I haven't, sir," Joss responded, trying to give the man the proper respect he deserved.

The man was a legend to all slayers. He had never failed a mission in his entire career, and he had slain more vampire in his career than anyone else in the history of the society. Joss wanted to be like him one day and kill as many of those blood thirsty monsters as he possibly could, and he would do it all in honor of his little sister, Cecile.

"I have new assignment for you," the head said, getting right to the point of their meeting, "Are you up for it?"

"Yes, sir. I'm ready for any mission you have to offer me."

"Good," the man responded with a slight smirk, "I'm your aware some of your family are wizards, correct?"

"Yes, some are," Joss replied, not really sure where this conversation was going.

"Are you as well?"

"Yes," he said hesitantly, "But I'd rather stay here to continue my job than worry about their ways or studies."

"A simple 'yes' would have sufficed," he said somewhat irritably and continued without waiting for a reply, "That magic school of theirs, in England, is planning to allow vampire into their school as students."

Joss looked at him in shock then he became angry._ "Why the hell would they allow those things into the school on purpose?"_

"I want you to enter as a student. You're the correct age to enter, if my information is correct. You will observe and study them. I want to know more about how they are and how they hid amongst us. That will make it easier to find them. So refrain from killing them if you can avoid it, we'll take care of that later."

"Yes," he responded without arguing.

"Those are your orders. Now go, and get the things you will be needing for your schooling. Your train leaves in one week."

Joss simply nodded in respect and left the office. He would have to try to obey those orders and not kill them. At least, not yet, he wouldn't. But he could hand over any of the names of the ones he discovered, leaving their fate in the hand of his superiors.


	6. Hogwarts Express

**Alright here it is! Vlad's first day at Hogwarts =) Hope you like it and will review his first day! Also thank you every one who has been reviewing my story. You rock! And extra special thanks to everyone who gave me suggestion for my story. Hope you like the new chapter! ^-^**

Vlad and Henry raced through the train station with Nelly, Greg, and Henry and Greg's parents all in tow. They were all really late; it had taken forever to get the adults to stop nagging the three of them and to make sure they had all their things. However, judging by the number of other carts they saw racing for the platform, they weren't the only ones.

As they approached platforms 9 and platform 10, Vlad and Nelly were becoming confused. There was a 9 and a 10 but no 9 ¾. Though from the start, it had sounded off. Since when was there such a thing as platform 9 ¾. Vlad may have never been to a train station before, but it sound off to him as well. Though with everything they had seen in the last month and how everything had changed, there was no telling how different this train station could be. They stopped in front of the wall between the platforms. They heard Greg snicker a little at their confused expressions.

"You have to walk through the wall. I know it sounds weird, but that's how it works," Greg stated.

"Oh," Vlad said simply, feeling somewhat foolish for not being able to come up with a better response.

"Alright then," Henry and Greg's mother said with a small smile, "Greg, have a good year and try to stay out of trouble this year. You and those friends of yours need to stay out of the headmaster's office more this year."

"But we didn't get in that much trouble, and Dumbledore thought those pranks were funny too," he replied defensively.

"Yes, he must have found them especially hysterical when I got a letter about you and those Weasely twins getting into more trouble by letting of explosives in class."

Greg just gave a grin in reply and tried not to laugh at the memory of what had happened that day. Their father hadn't had much to say about the matter. It wasn't as though he was one to reprimand over it; he had done pranks like those when he was in school as well.

"And Henry, this is your first year so make a good impression and have a good year. And YOU better not get into any trouble this year either," she told her son in a warning tone as Nelly and Vlad said their goodbyes.

"You better do the same and stay out of trouble," Nelly said somewhat sternly. Then her expression changed, and she gave him a smile, "But most of all, have a good year and have fun too. And don't forget to write me and tell me how it's going."

"Okay, I will," he replied smiling back. He was going to miss Nelly, but he'd see her again during the holiday. She pulled him into a quick hug which embarrassed him, but he didn't protest. After all, he wouldn't see her again for a few months.

"Bye. Stay safe," she said as he walked up to the wall with Greg and Henry.

"You too," he responded with a wave.

One by one, they passed through the barrier; Greg going first, then Henry, and lastly Vlad. What lied beyond the barrier shocked Vlad. It was a large platform with long black train sitting in on the tracks getting ready to leave in only a few minutes. They all quickly boarded the train. Greg had bid them farewell when he saw his friends looking for a compartment on the train and walked hurriedly to catch up with them.

Afterwords, Vlad and Henry set off to find their own compartment to sit in during the ride. They walked for a while down the halls of the train trying to find one empty compartment. Not long after they found one with only three people in it. They sighed; even if there were already people in it, they needed a seat and everywhere else on the train was already full. So after a moment, they walked up to the compartment door and opened it. Inside there sat three people, one Vlad recognized as the dark haired boy from the robe shop, another boy with red hair, and a girl with bushy brown hair. **(Note: I know they weren't friends with Hermione immediately, but in my story, they are.) **

"Do you mind if we sit here? There's no space left anywhere else," Vlad asked politely.

"No, you can sit with us," the brown haired girl reply smiling kindly at him.

"Thanks," Vlad and Henry replied in unison as they entered the compartment and placed their luggage up on the racks above their heads.

"I'm Vlad Tod, by the way," Vlad informed them after they had both gotten his luggage up onto the racks and had sat down.

"And I'm Henry McMillan," Henry said with a smile.

"I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," she responded gesturing to each of the boys as she told their names, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Vlad said, as Henry's eyes went wide to Harry's name.

"Are you really?" Henry said in amazement.

"Uh,yeah, I am," Harry responded simply, beginning to realize just how famous he was.

Vlad was a little surprised by surprised at Henry's reaction. _"What was so strange about that being the kid's name? Wait, wasn't that the name of the boy that defeated that Voldemort when he was just a baby? Wow... he must be pretty powerful to have managed that."_

"Wow, you must be good then," Henry commented.

"Uh, not really," Harry responded, seeming to be gradually becoming more and more uncomfortable with the conversation, "I don't remember anything. Plus I didn't even know magic existed until recently."

Vlad noticed it look as though Henry hadn't noticed Harry discomfort and was about to ask another question, so Vlad decided to change the conversation before Henry had the chance. He asked the first question that came to mind.

"So what house do you all want to be in?"

"I want to be in Gryffindor," Hermione said quickly, "I think it sounds like the best house."

"Gryffindor. My family's always been in that house and so are all my brother's," Ron responded, "I don't want to be the black sheep that got put in Slytherin, or something"

They all turned to Harry waiting for him to respond, "Well, I'm not really sure yet, probably Gryffindor. What about you two?"

"I'm not really sure yet, either," Vlad responded, somewhat relieved he wasn't the only one who wasn't sure yet.

"I don't care so long as it isn't Slytherin," Henry said.

They nodded in reply.

"I'm a little nervous about coming to this school, but I'm sure it'll be great fun," Hermione said with enthusiasm, "And this is a good year to be going to the school, especially as first years."

"What do you mean by that, Hermione?" Ron asked, curiously.

"Didn't any of you hear about what the headmaster is planning for this year?"

Harry and Ron shook their heads. No one noticed that Vlad and Henry hadn't said 'no', like the two of them.

She sighed, "Don't you read. It was in the Daily Prophet, just last week."

They continued to look at her with impatient expressions waiting to see what she was going to say.

"They said that some of this year's first years won't be human, or at least not entirely."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, voicing the question that was on the three of their minds.

"Well, Dumbledore said that a lot of wizards are really judgmental of magical creatures today and don't see that some aren't that different from us. So he decided to invite some students who are magical creatures into the school this year to try to prove it to us, like werewolves, vampires, giants, dwarfs, and other magical creatures.

"But the catch is that we won't know if someone is one of those students, or not. They'll have spells of some sort on them, if they can't already pass for your average witch or wizard," she said explaining the situation to them.

"Woah, I'll be careful to make sure I don't make any of them angry," Ron said, looking a little nervous.

Vlad became slightly annoyed at that comment, but he could still see what Ron meant. After all, he had never met any magical creatures aside from vampires, and the only one of those he had known, aside from himself, was his dad. He didn't know what to expect of the others.

"But I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't have invited any of them into the school if he thought they would endanger the other students," Vlad said trying to defend himself and the others without making it obvious he was one of them.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Harry said.

Hermione nodded, "I'm glad someone agrees with my opinion. I think magical creatures are looked down on too much as of late."

"That's true, but I'd rather stay safe than be sorry later," Ron said.

Henry nodded in agreement. He really didn't want to get into a fight with a giant or something, he won't stand a chance.

"Guess that's true," Vlad responded, deciding for now it was best to keep his secret just that, a secret. At least until he was sure his new friends would accept what he really was.

After a few moments of silence in the compartment, the door slid open to reveal a pump, old woman with a cart full of sweets.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked them in a friendly voice.

"No thanks... I'm all set," Ron replied, pulling out some food from his pocket with a disappointed expression.

Everyone stared at it with the same blanching expressions. Just what exactly was it supposed to be?

Suddenly, Harry pulled out a handful of galleons, "We'll take the lot."

Their eyes widened; that was a lot of money. But they couldn't let Harry pay for all of it, so they all chipped in. And soon their whole compartment was filled with all kinds of treats. They had all sorts, ranging from Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to chocolate frogs.

Along the rest of the trip they continued to talk about their first year, and Ron, Hermione, and Henry told the others about everything they had heard about Hogwarts form their siblings and in Hermione's case, books. They had a pleasant ride and conversation.

Soon they began nearing the school; they would be there in only 10 minutes. So the guys left the compartment first to allow Hermione time to change, then they altered, and she stepped out to allow them to change into their robes. After they had finished, she reenter the compartment, and they all sat back down in their original seats.

They were really close now; they could see the light from castle piercing through the darkness of the night. They could quite see it though; it was still too dark to completely make out the shape of the castle.

Slowly, the train pulled up to a station and stopped. Then the doors of the compartment popped open. Then a big tall man with a lot of dark hair called out, "First years, over here. Come over here, and leave your luggage on the train."

Then a sea of small children exited the train. Some slowly and cautiously approached the man, and other approached without any shown fear of hesitation. Harry walk up to him, and the others followed suit somewhat more cautiously.

"Hi, Hagrid," he said in a pleasant voice smiling up at the tall man.

"Oh, Harry," Hagrid responded, also with a smile, "Didn't see you there. Sorry but I don't have much time to talk right now. I've got a job to do, have to guide the first years to the castle."

"Okay," Harry responded in understanding.

"Alright. First years follow me," Hagrid called to them, now addressing all the first years.

They all did what they were told and followed him along a long, winding pathway. Eventually, they arrived at a big lake with many boat sitting just at the shore. And just across the lake was a huge magnificent castle. It was a truly breath taking sight. The stars and moon shined brightly in the night sky, and their reflection shown on the water below. The castle reflected in the water as well, and its light glistened as well.

The first years were told by Hagrid to climb into the boats, which they all did. Once every student was situated in their boat, the boat began to move toward the castle and toward their first and possibly their last adventurous year at Hogwarts.

**^_^ Hope you enjoyed the new chapter of my story... that's all I have time to write right now. The next chapter will be up soon. It'll be more of Vlad's first day and the sorting hat ceremony. I'll start on as soon as I have time to!**


	7. Sorting Ceremony

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry this one took so long. To be honest, I have no real excuse. I was busy but there was still time to write this chapter. I was just too lazy and didn't feel like writing but I am now so (Instead of doing my Balancing Chemical Equations homework, which is just a long way of saying waste of time, evil chemistry shit)…Anyways! Enjoy the new chapter! ^-^ (The next one won't take as long least I hope not…)**

Slowly the little boats approached the shore; drifting gently over the surface of the water until they reached the land, their future, and their first year of magic school. The boats all began to dock one after another until every boat had reached dry land. All the students climbed out of the boats with feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and anticipation. They followed the grounds keeper from the edge of the land up to the castle. After not too much time had passed, they reached their new home, Hogwarts. They were greeted by huge, wooden doors that towered over them. Most of the students were gawking at it; the castle hadn't looked so large from where they had been before.

Suddenly, the door began to drift open, startling the student closest to them as they quickly move out of the way. Once the doors were completely open the grounds keeper, Hagrid, led the nervous first years through the door and into the castle. They walked down several long hallways with stone walls and pictures hanging on them that moved and spoke, which shocked some who weren't used to the magical world yet.

Finally, they reached their destination; they all stopped packed together on a small staircase just outside a room that lied beyond the large doors before them. Then Hagrid bid them all a farewell as he told them to wait there and a professor would be by soon to take them into what he called, The Great Hall. So that's what they did; they stood and wait for said professor while their nervous feelings of anticipation grew by the second causing all to become restless. This atmosphere didn't take long to stir up all the students and trouble came along with the restless feeling swarming in the air.

"So what's the famous Harry Potter doing hanging out with a crowd like this one?" an arrogant voice called out over the heads of the first years.

Oh, no. Feelings of dread began to well up inside a few members of the group that the voice had been addressing, the members of the group who recognized that voice. It was Draco Malfoy; there was no doubt about it. There was no one else that that tone could possibly belong to. This really wasn't the time or place to be dealing with him again. After a few moments passed, Malfoy managed to push his way through the crowd of fellow first years aided by his two over weight, bumbling bodyguards. Meanwhile, students who didn't know Harry began looking around and whispering trying to catch a glimpse of "the boy who lived".

"Why go wasting your time with a pathetic group like this," Malfoy said addressing Harry in a sly tone, "Bunch of mud-bloods and blood traitors, the lot of them. You wouldn't want to go getting mixed up with them, would you? I can help you there." He finish arm extended expecting Harry to shake his hand.

No one in the group really wanted to deal with him right now. It was the first day, they had barely entered the castle and trouble was already brewing. However, no one in the large crowd of first years was paying Malfoy any mind, they were all focused on Harry, the boy they had heard stories about since as far back as they could remember.

Harry simply glanced at the offered hand before looking up at its owner and shaking his head, "No thanks. I think I can choose my friends for myself."

With that Malfoy's temper began to boil, and he turned to rest of the group. However, before he had the chance to say anything, Vlad had already read his mind and knew the exact word he was going to say. And Vlad had no intension of giving him the chance to say his cold, cruel words he was planning to.

"I know what you're going to say, and I'm warning you to just let this all go and walk away," he said determinedly to Malfoy.

Vlad really hoped he would see this as a threat and simply walk away; He couldn't stand the kid but that didn't necessarily mean he wanted to seriously injure the kid, at least not yet. He also hoped these tenuous fights between them all wouldn't become routine.

Just as Malfoy was about to spout a comeback at Vlad, an older woman dressed is long green colored robed and a pointed hat walked over to them all. She was the teacher Hagrid had told them about that was there to take them into the Great Hall. She explained to the shortly what was expected of them and how they were to enter into the Great Hall. They did as they were told quickly getting into their lines as the feelings of anxiety returned to loom over them once more.

The large doors that lead to the Great Hall slowly began to creak open revealing an incredible room with four very long tables positioned across the largest part. At each table sat a group of many students who all turned to look at the new first years as they proceeded down the center of the room toward a large table at the very front of the room that faced the tables full of students. At this table sat all the professors who were currently teaching one course or another in the school, and at the very center of the table sat a man that Vlad recognized instantly; it was Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster here and the one who had told Vlad about the plans for Hogwarts that year.

Once all the students had reached the front of the Great Hall, the old, dingy looking hat that had been sitting on a stool next to the teacher that had guided them into the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall, began to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can top them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a steady mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap! "

Once the hat had finished its song, Professor McGonagall began her explanation of how they would be sorted into their houses.

"When I call your name, you'll come up and sit on the stool and put the hat on. That's how the house you belong in will be decided for you. Once you're house is decided, you will sit with the other member of your house. From left to right, the first table is the Gryffindor table, the second is the Ravenclaw table, next is the Hufflepuff table, and finally is the Slytherin table."

After explaining how things would work, she began to call out students names; the students did as they had been directed. It was going to take quite a while to get through all the names on her list. So the students who had yet to be called tried to stay calm as they were still feeling the initial nervous feelings that now seemed long forgotten to some students.

Then she called out Draco Malfoy's name, and before the hat had even touched his head, he was placed into the Slytherin house. This fact didn't seem to surprise him; infact, he seemed quite pleased with himself. His being placed into Slytherin so quickly didn't surprise Vlad or the others.

Then Ron, Hermione, Henry, and Harry were all placed into Gryffindor. Ron had seemed very nervous and anxious as he cautiously approached the stool and hat when it was his turn, but his expression changed to one of relief when he had been placed into Gryffindor. Hermione's had been a quick pick too, and she had seemed eager both walking toward the hat and away from it. Henry's hadn't taken very long either and quickly ridded him of his anxiety. Harry had taken a bit longer, and Vlad had heard the entire discussion between the two. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he simply couldn't help his own curiosity.

Over time, Vlad began to become more and more anxious, wondering what house he would be in, how the year would go, if he could keep his secret all year, and most of about the other vampire that were in the very room with him. Maybe he could talk to some once he was sorted; he had never known any vampires aside from himself and his father.

Several more names were called, one being Joss MCMillan. Vlad was surprised by this; were he and Henry related or was it just a coincidence. Once the boy was out of the small remaining group and by the stool, Vlad caught sight of him. No, they were definitely related; they looked too much alike not to be. He would have to ask Henry about him later. Joss was them also sorted into Gryffindor and proceeded to walk hurriedly to the Gryffindor table. When he reached the table, he approached Greg and Henry.

After one or two more names were called, only about four students still remained. Vlad's anticipation grew; he really want to be sorted soon, but most of all he really didn't want to be last to be sorted. But then finally, his waiting finally paid off, when his name was called.

"Tod, Vladimir," Professor McGonagall called.

Once she had called out the name, several students gasped and whispered something to their friends around them.

"_Why would they react like that? Well, maybe they knew my father and are just surprised?"_ Vlad thought in a somewhat worried manner to himself as he began to approach the hat, the one who held the key to his future. He would worry about them after he got the sorting over with.

Once he reached the stool, he sat down, and professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head.

"_Hmm..,"_ Vlad heard echo from the depths of his mind, _"You're a difficult one. You have traits suited to all four of the house: the courage of a Gryffindor, the loyalty of a Hufflepuff, the cleverness of a Ravenclaw, and the slyness of a Slytherin. And there's that prophecy about you that makes you suited for Slytherin."_

"_Prophecy? What prophecy?" Vlad questioned the hat._

"_There's plenty of time to worry about the future later, and Slytherin, despite the prophecy, is not where your heart lies at the moment. I think I know the house that's just right for you."_

Silence was throughout the Great Hall as the sorting hat made its decision. Then finally, the hat cried out, "Gryffindor!"

Vlad exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and walk briskly towards his friends at Gryffindor table who all welcomed him warmly. When he reached the table, he was introduced to several new peoples, including Joss McMillian, who turned out to be Henry and Greg's cousin.

Once all the remaining first years had been sorted into their future houses, Albus Dumbledore rose from his seat at the center of the table at the front of the room. He walked around the table to the front and up to the golden stand that had been positions in the direct center of the front area. When he reached the stand everyone fell silent and listened intently on what he was about to say.

"For starters, I would like to say welcome back to our returning students and welcome to our new students. As most of you are already aware, this year the school year experience will be different in comparison to any year prior. It has come to my attention that most of you misunderstand magical creatures and don't realize the lack of difference you can sometimes found between them and us.

So this year as a way of getting you to understand this, I have invited new students who are mixed in with the new first years. A lot of these first years are regular witches and wizards, but some hidden within them aren't your average witch or wizard.

Some have dwarf or giant in them, some have demonic relatives and have inherited traits, some were infected by the werewolves, others infected by vampires, and we also have one vampire this year who was born one, a half-vampire," several students gasped at this fact, at the fact that the Pravus was at their school.

But Vlad only became more confused, wondering what the big deal was and why he was the only half- vampire here, but most of all what the hat had meant when it mentioned something about a prophecy regarding him, "So I expect you to treat all of them equally and make friends with them. You can always learn new things from one another. Also to address another concern, we have put up protective spells so that the moon will not affect a werewolf and the sun won't affect a vampire. This will make it harder to figure out who they are. Also to all our new vampiric students, feeding from anyone on the castle grounds will lead to many consequences and punishments. I will enlighten you, that it's not worth the enduring the consequences for such actions.

Now another thing I need to enlighten you of, is that year again the third floor corridor on the right hand side is forbidden to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death, as is the dark forest like every year. Now that that's taken care of, let's begin the feast," Dumbledore said, bringing his speech to an abrupt stop.

Suddenly food appear all over all the tables, food ranging from different types of meats, to fruits, to candies and sweats, and then on to breads. Some foods were normal foods that all had consumed or seen before, but some were strange and only some students were daring enough to eat it.

After gathering food onto their plates and beginning conversations, Vlad couldn't resisted his curiosity or worry anymore he had to know why the student had reacted that way to what he was and to his name. So he turned to ask the one person he knew would have an answer for him.

"Hey, Hermione," Vlad asked after taking a drink of his blood mixed with pumpkin juice.

"Yes," she responded looking over at him.

"I was just curious, but why did everyone react that was to finding someone in our year is half vampire?"

With that, Hermione paled slightly and glanced around nervously. Reading her mind, Vlad found that she had been doing so hoping the one they were talking about hadn't over heard.

"I gotta ammit, Imma biwt cuwious abouwt it tou," Henry chimed in through a mouthful of food.

"Me too," Harry said joining in the conversation as well, "what's so scary about a kid our age being half vampire?"

"You have no idea, mate," Ron said also become pale because of their chosen topic, "It's a horrible story; some say it's not just a story but a prophecy of the future."

"So what's this prophecy about?" Vlad asked anxiously. He really wanted to know the truth; the truth about a prophecy, why the students had reacted to him in that way.

"I'll explain later," Hermione said with a slight sigh, "after we leave here and go to our rooms."

They all nodded, eager to be let in on the truth and about what was going on. After they all had finished eating their dinners, they were all dismissed from the Great Hall, and the first years were guided by the prefects of their houses to their common rooms.

The Gryffindors traveled up a few flights of stairs until they came to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. They stopped directly in front of the portrait, confusing some student, who wondered where the door was. After a moment she looked at them and asked them for the password.

Their prefect responded, "Caput Draconis."

The Fat Lady nodded, and her portrait swung open revealing a room behind it. The prefect, Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother, told them about the dorms and the rules of the doors. After that, they were free to go to bed.

Just before they parted ways, Hermione told them all to meet her down in the common room around midnight when no one or very few people would be there at that time she would tell them what they wanted to know about the prophecy of the vampire who was born a vampire, the pravus. They all agreed, and then parted ways. They all went to their dorms to get some rest before they came back down at midnight.

**Hope you liked! Leave me a review letting me know what you thought of this chapter. In the next chapter they will be learning the truth about the Pravus… but will they find out Vlad's secret yet? The next chapter should take long to write really, so it should be up some time in several days. But that's it for today; I'm too tired to write more. Well… that's it.**


	8. The Pravus Prophecy

**yay didn't take long for me to update this time! ^^ Just so everyone knows.. (Those who bother to read this will know... if you're reading I greatly appreciate it!) I made revisions to all prioe chapters, nothing major… the chapters is still pretty much the same and this chapter will still be what I said, and has been editted. So enjoy the new chapter and let me know what you thought and any suggestions you have on improvements or for the story ^-^ thnx for reading!**

Vlad lied awake for hours that night after the sorting. His mind was racing through one thought after another, jumping from one possibility to another causing little comfort to come to him. In fact, his thoughts and worries only served to give him more concerns and worries. Why had some many reacted to him in that sense? Why did they fear him? What if his friends found out that he himself was what they seemed to fear some much? How was he going to keep who and what he was a secret from everyone? Could he do? And if so, for how long? These questions came into his thoughts one after another at the speed of bullets, zipping in and out of his befuddled mind.

Then a very frightening thought entered his mind what if he lost everyone because of this prophecy? Henry had been his only friend for so long, what would he do if he lost him? He lost both his parents only a year ago; Henry and Nelly were all he had during that ruff time. Now he had made more friends since he came to this school, but what if the legend pushed them all away from him?

He worries and confusion seemed to grow more and more as the seconds ticked passed while he waited. Waited from midnight to arrive, the time when he would know about the prophecy he had heard mentioned several times, the time when he would have to come to terms with what Hermione had to tell them. He was anxious, nervous, and a little fearful of what the future may have in store for him, but he knew that whatever it was he would sooner or later have to face it head on. So he waited and waited. Soon it seemed as though midnight would never come, but it did.

The huge, magnificent clock on the side of the castle rang out twelve times signaling that midnight had finally arrived. Slowly and as quietly as he could, Vlad creped over to the closest of his friend's beds and tried waking them. After a few drowsy arguments and shaking, everyone was up and headed quietly as they could down to the common room, so as not to wake anyone else in the room who was still sleeping. They all drowsily shuffled their feet down the stairs and over to the dying fire that was only smoldering slightly.

Once they were all seated, they waited for Hermione, but they didn't wait long because she came walking quietly down the stairs from the girl's rooms just moments later. She approached them slowly and found a seat of her own in an arm chair next to the fire.

After a sort yawn, she finally spoke up, "I think we should get this over with quickly. We don't want to get into trouble on the first day for being up after curfew."

"I think it's alright, so long as we're still in the common room and not out in the halls," Ron commented lazily, "But we should still get this over with quickly. It's not the most pleasing tale there is, you know?"

Hermione nodded her agreement, "Regardless, even if being up is permit so long as we are in our common rooms, we will need our rest for tomorrow; it being our first day and all."

"So what's that prophecy you all mention about anyway?" Vlad said trying to get them all to remember why they were there and so that he could finally know the truth about what had been haunting his thought all night.

Hermione took a deep breath before beginning, "Over two thousand years ago, they found an ancient prophecy about a vampire that would be born unlike any before him or after. He would be born of a human mother, making him half human and half vampire. The prophecy states that his mind reading and controlling abilities would be far above that of any other vampire. That he would be able to control the mind of almost any living creature in existence. Also that sunlight would have absolutely no affect on him, whereas it is fatal to any other vampire. Apparently, the one they spoke of in the prophecy has been born and is now attending our school as a first year just like all of us."

Vlad's mind wandered over what Hermione had just told them. And Vlad had to admit, it made him pretty lonely knowing that if the prophecy was true he would be the only half vampire ever that is if the prophecy was to be believed.

"I still really don't see the frightening part about it," Harry commented, "Basically, all the prophecy said is that there would be a half vampire born that was stronger than any other vampire."

Hermione sighed with a sad glint in her eyes, "But I'm not finished yet. What I have told you so far isn't why people fear him. The reason why both humans and vampires alike fear him once they have heard of him is because of what I'm about to tell you. However, before I tell you, you should know that most vampires don't even believe this. Most think the prophecy about the Pravus, that's what they call the boy the prophecy's about by the way. They call him the Pravus meaning wicked, depraved, and evil.

Anyway, the likelihood that the prophecy is true is low. Predicting the future, divination, none of it's an exact science, so there's no telling what's true and what's not."

"If you don't believe in divination, why did you seem so uneasy about the half vampire and the prophecy?" Vlad asked interrupting her.

"You didn't let me finish," she stated continuing her tale, "The reason why both vampires and humans fear him and why the prophecy is so important is because it is said that the Pravus would one day come to power, ruling over the vampires and commanding them while enslaving the entire human race. Everyone would be completely under his control and having absolutely no free will of their own."

Silence filled the room, no one was really sure of what to say now. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were thinking over the prophecy and who the Pravus could possible, not to mention what Dumbledore had been thinking letting someone like that into the school as a student. While Henry was thinking about how none of that sounded anything like his best friend; he knew Vlad better than that and knew that no matter what that wasn't who Vlad was. He tried to reassure himself and no think about any possibilities. He glanced over a Vlad for reassurance, but when he looked over he saw that reassurance was not what he would be receiving.

Vlad's face was pale, and his mind was wondering; he wasn't really sure what to think now except shocked. He knew it couldn't be true, could it? That person Hermione had described, it sounded nothing like him. He knew he would do those things ever, would he? Vlad wasn't sure what to think now.

"Vlad, you okay?" Henry asked his best friend, worriedly.

Vlad stared blankly for a moment before regaining his composure, "Yeah, fine."

"Who do you guys think it could be?" Ron questioned sounding a bit worried.

"Hn, probably Draco," Harry said, coolly, "He seems like the power hungry type, the type who would do something like that."

"I don't know," Hermione commented, "You could be right, but he just doesn't seem to be a dark enough person for that."

"Well, he may not now but give him time; he could become that kind of a tyrannical monster."

Vlad eyes grew wide; that one comment caused Vlad to realize that even here, he could not be himself. These people, were they really his friends? It was obvious that they feared him because of the prophecy that had been made about him, and that they thought that he was a monster, even if they didn't know the one they were talking about and Vlad were the same person.

"I highly doubt that Malfoy is a vampire, or even a half vampire. In case you're forgetting, his entire family are well-known wizards, so it would not be easily kept secret if any of one in his family were vampires." Hermione commented.

"That's probably true," Harry said in agreement, thoughtfully, "It's probably someone else; someone whose family was never really involved much in the wizarding world, or may be not at all."

"I don't think we should bother worrying about this right now," Henry intervened trying to defend his friend, "It's obvious that Dumbledore trusts him, and even if the person the prophecy is talking about is in the school, he hasn't done anything, hasn't tried taking over everyone's minds, or anything, so maybe the prophecy is just a hoax."

Vlad felt a little of the new weight on his heart lift, at least he knew that despite the truth, he still had one friend on his side.

"I think Henry's right, even if the Pravus has been born and is in the school now, there's no telling who he could be or what he could be like. I mean for all we know, he could be just another kid like us and live an almost ordinary life until lately. Plus he could be in any of the houses and be anyone; we can't just go around accusing random people when we have no actual evidence." Vlad said matter-of-factly to them, trying to sound neutral on the topic.

"You're probably right," Hermione said calmly, "Maybe we should just let this go for now. We can worry about all this later, because we still have our first day of classes tomorrow, and we need our sleep if we are actually going to be up in time for them."

"Alright," Harry replied, "But we'll have time to talk more about all this later, and I really think we should still keep an eye out, just in case."

They all nodded; some in true agreement, others simply to blend in. After a few more moments, they all said their goodnights and headed back up to their beds to get more sleep before they began their classes and the really first day of the rest of their lives.

The conversation they had just had did nothing to calm Vlad's mind, if anything it had only stirred it up more. The prophecy: what was the probability that the prophecy was actually true? His friends: would he be able to ever tell them the truth? If not, how was he going to keep his secret for the rest of the year and not only the rest of the year but the rest of his years attending Hogwarts? The entire school: Just how many people in the school already knew? Would they tell more people causing it to spread throughout the whole school?

One thing he knew for certain, though, was that, he would not allow the prophecy to rule the rest of his life. He would carve his own future and not let anyone else tell him how to live his life. Eventually, Vlad's mind tired itself out and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

**Hope you liked it... I'm not really sure how well it turned out, I might go back later and edit a little. I think the next chapter will just be about following Vlad on his first day of classes. Not sure when it'll be up. Also I want Vlad to keep his secret a little longer so it'll probably be a few chapters until they find out.**


	9. Hermione's Suspicions

As Hermione watched her friend's retreating forms heading back up to their dorms, her suspicions increased. Both Vlad and Henry had been acting very strangely throughout her explanation. They had seemed overly anxious to find out about the prophecy, especially Vlad, and after hearing the truth about it, they had both seemed horrified like anyone would be, but it was different somehow. Their horror was different than the others. She couldn't quite tell what it was though.

And it had seemed like they were trying to defend the Pravus, suggesting that he was possibly just like them and an almost ordinary kid. Hermione came to the conclusion that they both knew more than they were sharing. But what was it exactly? What were they trying so hard to hide? Was it possible that they knew the Pravus personally? Or… was it that one of them was the Pravus himself?

"That.. couldn't be possible,.. Could it?" she murmured to herself as she sat back down in front of the fire.

No, even if it was possible, she didn't want to think about. They were her friends, and she should have more faith in them. Plus their personalities were nothing like what would be expected of someone supposedly destined to rule the world, like an evil dictator. She felt bad suspecting them, but her gut feeling told her they definitely knew more than they were sharing.

She stared into the fire place at the now smoldering wood; the fames had dead long ago, and it no longer provided any heat.

"_I'm going to get to the bottom of this… no matter what," _she thought to herself rising from her place in front of the fireplace.

She had made her decision on what she would do. She wouldn't tell the others about her suspicions, at least not yet; she needed more proof first. She would watch them both and examine their actions. That way she would be able to tell if they had any involvement with the Pravus. She would also have do some more research on the Pravus and try to find out as much as she possible could about the prophecy. It would take time and work, but she was definitely not going to give up until she knew the truth.

**Welp, that's it for now! Not really sure when I'll have the next chapter up by, maybe a while since I'm not really in the writing giant chapters mood. But hope you liked all the new chapters including this one. So let me know what you think of the story so far… or don't whatever works.**


	10. Emotional Encounters

IMPORTANT!- ** This is when the story is going to lean more towards being more like the movie than the book… 'cause I lost my book T.T and it's been so long since I read it(Very, very long time). And sorry it's been so long since my last update… but thanx for being patient. Anyways here's my next chapter (Chapter 10! Made it to double digits!) ^-^ To be honest it's been so long I had to re-read my own story =) but it won't be so till the next one is up. **

Vlad walked groggily down the steps leading from the boy's dormitory down to the common room. The others had tried to wake him up several times, and after about the sixth time, they simply decided to pour a glass of water on his face. That did not require a repeat. With that he had been up and ready within moments though he was still unbearably tired. After the discussion the night before, he hadn't gotten much sleep. The worries and concerns that had plagued his mind prior to the meeting in the common room had only been amplified by his new discoveries. What he had hoped would put his mind to rest ended up doing quite the opposite. The new truths and discoveries had played about in the back of his mind for the majority on the night only allowing him a couple hours of rest.

After dragging himself down the stairs at the pace of a snail, Vlad finally reached the bottom where the others had been waiting for him. He stifled a yawn as he looked up at all of them. Hermione, Harry, Ron, Henry, and Joss, the boy he had assumed was related to Greg and Henry somehow.

"Took you long enough," Ron stated, smiling to show he was joking.

Vlad just smirked slightly, "You guys weren't waiting that long. I left the room just after you."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm starving so it felt like forever," Ron complained.

Vlad simply shrugged in response as they headed for the door to leave the common room and go down to breakfast.

"You 'kay, dude?" Henry asked Vlad quietly.

"Yeah, fine. Just y'know, not much sleep."

"Alright," Henry replied simply, knowing full well there was more to it than just that, "By the way, you didn't meet my cousin yet, did you, Vlad?"

Vlad shook his head in response.

"Oh, well. Vlad, this is my cousin, Joss. And Joss, this is my best friend, Vlad." Henry said introducing the two.

"Hi," Vlad said to Joss.

And Joss responded with a simple "hi" in return. To Vlad, Joss didn't seem like much of a talker so far.

They soon reached the Great Hall having somehow luckily made it without getting lost. It came as a bit of a surprise how easily the found it considering they had only arrived at the castle the night prior and that meant that today marked their first day of classes at the school they would be attending until they were over seventeen and had completed all seven years at the school. Today they would be officially stating the year off and meeting all their classmates and teachers.

They entered the Great Hall in their group and proceeded to walk briskly over to their house table and sit down. Many of the other Gryffindors were already seated at the table discussing different things amongst themselves. It only took Ron a moment before he had began to dig into the food receiving a disgusted expression from Hermione. And the other boys followed suit not long after. To which Hermione simply shook her head before beginning on her own breakfast. And their goblets filled up with pumpkin juice except in Vlad's case where it was a mixture of pumpkin juice and blood. To which he found held an interesting taste, but it was still good.

They all ate in silence for a few moments before a group of four kids, two girls with black hair and thick black eyeliner and two boys with exotic hair, came walking over to their table. They were all from an assortment of houses.

"Hi!" one of the girls said, smiling at them, well Vlad in particular, "Are you Vladimir Tod?"

"Uh, hi. Yeah," He said not quite sure what else to say.

"I'm Snow, this is October, Sprat, and Kristoff," she told him gesturing to each of the kids standing behind her.

Deciding to be friendly in return, he responded, "This is Hermione, Harry, Ron, Henry, and Joss."

"Nice to meet you," she said simply to all of them before turning to Vlad again, "So what I heard is true; you do look just like your father. But you probably hear that a lot."

"_What? She knows Dad?... there are other vampires here so I guess I should be surprised they know him,"_ Vlad thought to himself before responding.

"Thanks," he responded excited about meeting other vampire beside himself and his father but trying to hide it, "And yeah, I do."

"So how has he been? None of us have seen in years." October commented happily.

"Oh… uh, well," Vlad stated hesitantly debating on how to tell them, "I don't really know how to tell you this… but he and my mother passed away last year."

They all gained shocked looks on their faces, which quickly changed to sorrowful ones. They could hardly believe their ears. The strong, former council member had died. Tomas was actually dead?

"How did it happen?" Kristoff said, trying to suppress the emotions that were rising to the surface.

Vlad lowered his head so that his bangs were now covering his eyes. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now. He was trying to move on and not dwell on the past. But that didn't seem to be working very well for him.

"It was a house fire," Vlad told them still not looking at them.

They all seemed even more distraught by this. To think that the vampire they had respect to such an extent would die in a house fire. Thinking of him, they never would have picture him dying, ever. But if they had, they would have imagined a glorious death in battle, fighting for something he believed to be worth anything, even his very own life.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Snow said gently in a voice barely over a whisper, knowing her words truly meant nothing. Her words won't fix anything; they won't bring the dead back to life, but they felt necessary.

"Thanks," he said in a voice that matched hers in tone.

A mood of grieving set around them, bearing down on them. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Joss, and Henry remained silent throughout the conversation, not knowing what to say or how to say. They mostly didn't speak because they felt it would be out of place to intrude on the conversation play out before them.

Every time a voice came to speak, it shook slightly with emotion and regret of time that would never be and words never spoken. What people said was true, you never know when you last day with someone is and should never waist a minute of time with them.

"Well, we better be going. See you all later." Sprat said trying to lighten the mood, but it was eminent that he was also greatly troubled by the news.

And with that they all issued their statements of temporary farewell and began to trudge back to their own tables. But even though they all dispersed, the mood that had set in only lightened slightly.

"You alright, Vlad?" Henry questioned delicately.

After a deep, calming breath, Vlad looked up at them. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just hadn't been expecting that."

Henry nodded in understanding. Vlad had never really met anyone who knew his father well; it must have been a bit of a shock and then having to talk about their death again.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Vlad," Hermione said looking at Vlad caringly, "Your father seemed like he was very well respect though."

They all tried to give him their condolences and kind words; Vlad accepted them gratefully. However, Joss watched in suspicion; he was almost positive those people had been vampires. He could tell just by looking at them that they probably were. Still, he needed confirmation before he took any action. He had his order not to kill unless necessary, but he would observe them from a distance and stick once e had the okay to. Then his eyes turned to Vlad, but if they are vampire, which they probably are, then what does that make Vlad's father? Or better yet, Vlad himself? No, he won't go accusing his cousin's best friend of anything. And on top of that, Vlad didn't seem like a vampire to him, maybe goth, but not a vampire.

And just like that their breakfast time came to an end, and it was then time to begin their official first day of classes. This was certainly going to be an interesting and possibly dangerous year for everyone.

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, I know it's short but - ****I can't continue until**** I have your opinions on something. **_**So what do you think? Should Meredith be included in this story, or not?**_** Once I've got a good number of opinions for yes or no, I can write more, but I have to know first cause personally I can't decide… I don't like her but I'm trying to fit as many of the characters in as I can, so maybe I should include her.**


	11. The Start Of It All

**Finally, here's… what?...chapter 11, right? Oh and before I forget I decided not to include Meredith (Sry to those who wanted her included) because personally I don't like her and it was popular vote. Also I didn't really know how to fit her in… she really doesn't fit any of the houses in my opinion. Anyways, hope you like the new chapter. The next chapter should be up pretty soon no guarantees, but I have already started it.**

After the emotional atmosphere that had taken over during breakfast, they could all honestly say they were glad to be out of there and on their way to the beginning of their first day. They were exuberant to be finally about to begin practicing magic. Despite the fact it was school, it being a magic school seemed to make all the difference.

For Vlad, life had taken a one hundred and eighty degree turn and then done a few flips, just for kicks. He could honestly say this was most definitely not where he had expected to be on this particular day of this particular year. But then again, he had come to learned that every aspect of life could change in the blink of an eye whether you had a protest towards it or not. Life was unpredictable and uncontrollable. And his life had once again caught him by surprise. Here he was a supposedly ordinary eleven year old now holding two grave secrets that only two living people had full knowledge of, Henry and Nelly. Or that was once the case; now a bunch of vampires, several teachers, and anyone they chose to tell would too have full knowledge of his two darkest secrets. And there was truly nothing he could do to stop it, to keep his secret under wraps.

His gaze was glue to his feet as he trudged along behind his group of friends; mind jumping from one thought to the next in no particular pattern. As he thought through the changes that had occurred recently and how much would still change, he thought back to where it all began. His first sign of magic. Though at the time he simply considered it a freak accident and had nothing to do with him. Little had he known just how much it had had to do with him at that time. It was him; he was the one who had caused it all.

**(Flashback—one year prior, thirteen days after his mother's death and father's "death")**

_Vlad lied awake listening. Listening for any signs of life. Any sign that Nelly was still awake. But he heard none; Only the sound of his own shallow, slow breaths and light purring of Amenti,his aunt's cat, lying just outside his door. Slowly he rose, throwing off his covers as quietly as he could manage. Then he opened his door; it squeaked slightly causing him to curse silently under his breath. Being sure not to step on the cat and to skip the step that squeaked, Vlad slipped down the stair and out into the pitch black __night that had swallowed the town of Bathory many hours prior. Sneaking out in the middle of the night had become a habit for Vlad over the last several days, and somehow Nelly had yet to discover the fact. _

_After not too much time, Vlad reached his destination of the belfry. He quickly approached the belfry all the while checking that there was no one around to see him. Seeing he was alone, Vlad concentration on levitating up to his sanctuary hidden within the old church turned high school. Without too much difficulty he reached the top; he was getting better with all the recent practice he was getting. He casually scanned the space in front of him. There wasn't much there yet, some pictures and books. He would have to get some more things, maybe even a chair if he could manage to take it up with him. _

_Putting those thoughts out of his mind, he sighed running a hand through his hair. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. He walked over to the stack of his father's books he had taken. He found the one he had been looking for and began reading it attentively. Before he realized it, well over an hour had past. _

_Rising for his sitting position, he stretched briefly, placing the book he had been reading at the top of the pile of books, and walked over to the edge of the belfry. After seeing there was no one around, he stepped off the belfry and floated down to the ground. And quickened his steps back towards Nelly's house; he needed to get back before she woke up to find him gone. Suddenly he noticed footsteps echoing his own, several set of them... someone was following, more than one someone._

"_Hey, goth boy!" a loud, unintelligent voice called out from not far behind Vlad._

"_Oh... lovely. Bill and Tom. That was just what I needed tonight," Vlad thought irritably turning around to face the two sources of his annoyance and now growing headache._

"_What ya doing out so late? I think it's a bit past your bed time," Bill said taking several threatening steps closer to Vlad._

"_You can think? That's news to me," Vlad responded, standing his ground. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the two of them. An one another note, what exactly were they doing out this late at night? The sun would be rising in only a few hours, yet here they were prowling around the streets._

"_You think you're so smart don't you, goth boy. Didn't anyone tell you tell that muscle beats smarts," Tom said trying to intimidate Vlad, as they both continued approaching him, quickly getting closer making their intentions obvious._

_Vlad stared at them with an eyebrow raised. Was that the best they could come up with? Then again maybe how bad with arguments they were shouldn't be his greatest concern. It was now two oversized ten year olds verse one particularly thin one. The odds were not in his favor. _

_Suddenly, yet not unpredictably they charged at him. Vlad's eye went wide as dodged out of the way of the two charging boars. He turned back around just in time that Tom's hand missed the collar of his shirt. Then Bill came out of now where, grabbing Vlad's arms and trapping them behind him so that he could not fight back. Tom approached threateningly in front of Vlad._

"_Now what are you going to do? You can't escape." Tom said a dark grin spreading across his face._

_Vlad faltered at this. This situation really couldn't get much worse. Vlad braced himself for the punches that were bound to come, shutting his eyes tightly and tensing up his body. But they never came. Slowly and cautious, Vlad opened his eyes._

_They were gone... both of them. He standing alone on the sidewalk, surrounded by nothing but silence. Vlad looked around intently and anxiously. Just what was going on here? Then suddenly he heard frantic yelling just above his head. He looked up to find both Tom and Bill six feet up in the old, strong oak tree positioned behind him. They were perched on a thick branch that jetted of from the center of the tree that looked just strong enough to hold the both of them._

_Vlad stared up at them in astonishment, "What... what the hell?" _

"_You just wait till we get down from here, Tod! You're dead," Bill shouted down at him all the while trying not to fall from the branch as they both made their way toward the trunk to climb back down._

_What? They were blaming him for this? Just how exactly could this have been his fault? He took several steps back from them before simply walking away. At the rate they were going, it would be some time before they reached the ground. Still the whole thing was nagging at him in the back of his mind it was unexplainable and seemingly impossible how they almost instantaneously ended up six feet up a tree._

"Vlad?...Vlad?"

"Huh? What?" he said looking around at his friends, not really seeing them.

"Are you okay? You were just standing there with a blank look on your face." Hermione said concerned.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," he said reassuringly, featuring a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. And just before they could continue the interrogation, he interrupted, "Shouldn't we get going? we're going to be late."

He moved one ahead, glancing back to see if they would follow. They seemed to take the hint that he didn't want to elaborate on it and followed behind.


	12. Classes

**Here's the new chapter! Yea, I know I take forever to update, but hey! I've read story updated once a year a most with super short chapters. So at least I don't take that long. ^-^ Hope you like it. Feel free to give your opinions on the story so far and any criticism you may have. **_Note_: **Some of the classes that I chose to feature aren't the original first year classes, but I included them because I thought they could prove to be pretty interesting.**

Vlad, Henry, Harry, Joss, Hermione, and Ron began sprinting down the hallway realizing they were about to be very, very late for class if they didn't pick up the pace. Because unfortunately for them, they had gotten lost within the corridors... twice. Even more unfortunately, their first class of the day was potions. And after what they had heard from their upperclassmen, that was definitely not the class to be late to especially being Gryffindors and it being the first day of classes. And to top it all off, it was with the Slytherins; double whammy.

"I thought you said you knew the way!" Ron said trying to catch his breath.

"It's only the second day we've been here, Ronald!" Hermione argued back.

"Still... you said 'let me lead the way, I know how to get to the Potions room'," Ron stated matter-of-factually, "Well guess what, Hermione, apparently you don't."

Hermione stopped immediately causing Joss to almost run into her. "If you know the way so well, why don't you lead," She stated back gesturing for him to take the lead as they all stopped just behind her.

Ron faltered at this. And Joss took advantage of the opening to intervene. "Guys! Let's stop arguing. It's not exactly helping the situation."

They seemed to realize the truth behind his words but not without slight annoyance. Despite the fact they both were still very frustrated, they both put down their arsenals in a temporary armistice. They shot each other slight glares of irritation just before however.

"Hey, look!" Henry said gesturing further down the corridor of where they were all convened. There was was a group of first year slytherins walking not far ahead of them, "Bet they're headed the same place we are."

"Well... that was lucky," Vlad mattered to himself.

So taking advantage of their change in luck, they followed a few yards behind the group of first year Slytherins, and just as predicted, they lead them right to their destination, the Potions room. They walked through the large, wooden doorway only to find a room that was even more dark and dreary than the corridor they had just come from. Which was rather hard to believe... but true. The widows were covered allowing for only a very small amount of light to pass through. The rooms was lightened by a few candles sitting in random locations throughout the room.

However the teacher standing at the front of the room was by far the dreariest part of the room. A sort of strict, depressing atmosphere seemed to hang about him and infect those that got too close. The room was filled with quiet chattering as the student that had already taken their seats prattled on about an assortment of different topics. Suddenly, the teacher lifted his wand and with a simple flick the door behind the six slammed shut causing them all to jump out of their skin at the unexpected sound. And the rest of the room fell into a deafening silence in its wake.

"You're late." The professor stated allowing only a blank expression to grace his features, "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"But sir, we aren't the only ones late." Hermione stated in their defense.

"I don't care. Now take your seats before I decide to make it twenty instead of ten."

They sighed in defeat. So he was worse than the rumors said. They did as he had instructed receiving several dark stares from their fellow Gryffindors for already costing them ten points on the first day.

"Now that our new celebrity has decided to finally join us, we'll begin class." The Slytherins snickered at their embarrassment obviously indulging in the way he singled them out, especially Harry, who subconsciously wondered how the teacher could already dislike him after less than five minutes in his classroom, "I'm Professor Snape, and you WILL refer to me as such. I only expect a select few of you to actually appreciate the subtle art that is potion making." He sparred a glance at Malfoy and several other Slytherins sitting near him, "For those, I can teach you many things; I can teach you how to bewitch the mind, ensnare the senses, brew fame, bottle glory, even avoid death. Then again," his gaze shifted to the Gryffindors, namely Harry, "There are those of you who won't do so well."

After the potions master finished his speech about the class equipped with many dark glances in the direction of the Gryffindors, the class passed rather uneventfully. Potions was definitely not going to grow to be the favorite of any of them. After packing up their material, they were on their way to their next assigned class of the day, Transfiguration.

This time they didn't get nearly as lost as they had on their way to the potions room which was likely due to the fact that the room was not buried deep within the dungeons of the castle in a place no one would think to look for a classroom. There was also the fact that they could simply follow the other Gryffindors and Slytherins from the potions room to the transfiguration room though most of them seemed just as clueless as the six. Trailing behind the others, they made it to the room without a substantial amount of casualties.

The class went on uneventfully. The transfiguration teacher introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. Most of the student remembered meeting just after having arrived; she was the one who had conducted the sorting ceremony. She seemed nice enough a teacher, slightly strict but nothing major. She proceeded to explain about the class and what she expected of them all as individuals and as a class. Letting the have free time for the remainder of the time they would be in her room before heading to their next class.

They were beginning to figure this would be how much of the day past with simple introductions and such. Well, at least lucky for them they had no need to worry about homework that night. They resumed chatting amongst themselves once she finished her explanation. After not too much time had passed, it was time to move on to their next class of the day, Charms, which carried on much like Transfiguration had. The teacher introduced himself as Professor Flitwick and gave a brief introduction about charms and its history. This class struck Vlad as a somewhat interesting class though the history lesson he could have done without.

Soon they were on their way to their fourth class of the day, defense against the dark arts. That class took awhile to get to seeing as it was almost on the exact opposite side of the castle. They stumbled in one after another barely making it into the classroom before the time they would have become late. The teacher stood calmly at the front of the room waiting patiently for them all to enter and find their seats. The teacher was a rather lanky man who sported friendly, nervous eyes and a turban upon his head. Harry recognized him as the man he had met in the pub on his way to Diagon Alley, the Hagrid had introduced him to.

Once they had all reached their seat, he cleared his throat softly before speaking, "Uh, w-w-welcome to defense agains-st the d-d-dark arts. I'm P-p-professor Quirrell."

The man stumbled and stripped over with words as he spoke earning him some odd, confused looks from his student, as well as some snickers from others. The man was nervous, extremely so, that much was obvious by the way he carried himself and how he was stuttering more than normal.

"_There's something off about this guy," _Vlad thought to himself, as he examined the man's actions. He wasn't one to judge on looks and such, but there was something in his presents, Vlad could feel it in his bones. So with careful consideration, Vlad decided to try to look into to his mind. With a deep calming breath to focus himself, he pushed at the man's mental defenses only to fail completely but not before catch a glimpse of something he probably should have. What he saw sent shivers up his spines, such cold maliciousness, so much rage and cruelty. It wasn't some much that he had seen it as he had felt it, another consciousness living within the teacher one that wanted nothing more than to watch as much pain and suffer as he could possibly manage.

He looked down at the desk in front of him as thoughts of what that could have possibly been passed through his mind. He tore his eyes from the desk to look back up at the teacher, only to find the teacher staring back at him with a fierce, cold, hard glare that probably meant death if he so much as breathed a word of what he had found to anyone. Vlad's breath caught in his throat. Had the teacher noticed him?

After a moment Vlad noticed that teacher wasn't looking at him at all but at something behind him. Slowly, uncertainly he turned around to peer behind him, only to find Snape standing in the door way of the classroom with a severely irritated expression on his face.

"May I have a moment of you time, _Professor_?" Snape ask with a bit to his voice.

"Certainly, Severus," Quirrell said expression changing to a friendly on once again as he made his way to the back of the classroom. Snape's right eye twitched slightly in irritation for having been address with his first name.

"A-all of you p-p-please kee-ep the noise down and s-s-stay in yo-our se-eats while I am g-gone," Quirrell said addressing the class before following Snape out the door and shutting it quietly behind him.

Hermione wondered whether it was just her imagination or if the teacher's voice had suddenly lost its stuttering and become much more confident, possible even defiant with Snape's appearance.

"_Oh, there you go, Hermione. Start thinking your teachers are suspicious now to," _Hermione mentally scolded herself for coming up with even more unlikely conspiracy theories.

"Harry, are you alright?" Joss asked, looking at Harry with a concerned expression, noticing his pained expression as he held the part of his forehead that was the bane of his existence.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a slight headache. Don't worry about it. I'm already feeling better," Harry replied, reassuringly. Though he thought his sudden head ache was unusual considering it started when Snape entered the room and suddenly subsided when the two teachers left the room. But he really wasn't too concerned; headaches, after all, weren't a death sentence.

"You sure, mate." Ron asked equally concerned, "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks, Ron. I feel loads better." Harry stated with slight amusement.

"I try my best," Ron replied, smirking.

The others laughed at their antics. Soon their teacher returned to complete his introduction to defense against the dark arts. However, his expression seemed somewhat darker than it had before he left. But before long, they made their way to the great hall to have lunch.

"How many more classes?" Henry asked in a complaining tone, as he plopped down on a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Five," Vlad replied, already taking a sip of his pumpkin juice- blood concoction.

"Ugh," Henry groaned in complaint, slouching in his seat.

"Lovely," Harry and Ron stated taking up the same attitude as Ron.

Hermione simply gave them all a look, choosing not to reply to their attitude. They then chose to enjoy the short break they had by proceeding to stuff their faces, well at least Ron and Henry chose to. The others gathered up some food on to their plates.

"Hey, Vlad, Are you a vegetarian, or something?" Ron asked curiously, peering at Vlad's plate, "You never seem to eat meat."

"Uhh, well, something like that," Vlad replied.

Henry intervened grinning, "Simply put. Vlad hates meat. Smell of it, taste of it. It's kind of funny really. The expressions he makes when people eat it near him."

Vlad shrugged, "Can't help it. It's gross. Cooked flesh; how tasty." He ended his statement with a tone of complete sarcasm.

Hermione analyze the both of them a lot so far throughout the day, trying to find answers to the questions currently plaguing her mind. But truthfully, she had nothing. Not one thing she could take as evidence or even a slight hint; in fact, today seemed to be causing the opposite effect. Maybe she had been wrong about them both; maybe it was all in her head. Maybe they were just the types who tried to always give people the benefit of the doubt. No! Even if the possibilities of her being wrong had grown, she had to know for sure. She had to be absolutely sure in her finding and know that truth regardless of what it was. She had no choice! Her conscious would not allow her to abandon her search for the truth, but that didn't mean she had to not be their friend. She honestly liked them both a lot. They were interesting.

Vlad glanced around nervously, trying to see if their defense against the dark arts was anywhere nearby before speaking, "Umm, guys?" He asked hesitantly, not sure how to word what he wanted to tell them. He couldn't tell them the whole truth, or at least not without exposing himself. He had to be subtle and careful with his wording.

"Sup?" Henry asked. Vlad could tell Henry the whole truth later, but for now he would go with the censored version of his theory.

"Is it just me or is the Quirrell guy a bit off?" He said very hesitantly, not sure of the reaction he would receive. Hermione's eye widened a fraction, so she wasn't the only one who got a bad vibe from their defense against the dark arts professor.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked skeptically, "Yeah, he's a little odd, but I don't think there's anything really bad about him."

"I think I have to side with Vlad on this one," Joss said in agreement, "There's something in his eyes. Something, he's hiding."

"Nah, I think you're just over thinking things," Ron retorted, "He's a teacher. And you saw him; the only thing weird about him is he wears a PURPLE turban. Purple."

"Heh. Maybe." Vlad said in uncertainty. He wasn't convinced. He knew what he had felt in that man's mind was real and not simply his imagination getting the better of him. Even if the others didn't believe him, he still would remain cautious when that professor was involved.

Henry looked at his best friend over the now diminishing mount of food he had constructed. He knew his friend well enough to tell when he was being serious. That made him a bit concerned now too, "So what's off about him?"

"I don't know how to put it it's just… in the way he acted or maybe his presence. There's just something cold and dangerous buried under it all."

"I got the same feeling," Hermione stated looking at Vlad determinedly, "And did you notice how his speech changed when Snape came in?"

The boys shook their heads in response looking at her expectantly.

"Well, he stopped stuttering and became a lot more confident like he was trying to show authority or defiance."

After a moment of silence, Joss broke through saying, "Well, even if Ron's right, and his like of purple is the only strange thing about him. It's better to be cautious then wish we would have."

They finished lunch without much more conversing, each contemplating something different. Today had been a bit strange to say the least, but it wasn't over yet, not even half. So they moved on to their next class of the day herbology with Professor Sprout. Vlad could tell from the moment he walked through the door, that this was not the class for him. After only ten minutes of her excitedly prattling on about all the plant they would be learning about, he was ready to either take along nap or beat his head of a wall. Seeing as he could do neither at the moment, he chose to simply stand there and try to hear her.

Vlad could honestly say he was glad to leave the greenhouse when they did. Now they were on their way toward the gamekeeper, Hagrid's hut which lay near the edge of the forbidden forest. Harry smiled as they neared where he waited for them. He introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid the gamekeeper and the new care for magical creatures teacher, seeing as the former one was no longer able to do his job. It was not an indept explanation of what had happened to the man but based on Hagrid's expression, it was most likely better not to ask and accept it as it was. He was nervous with it being his first day of teaching ever, but he seemed like a very kind, honest man.

His class seemed like it would be one of the more interesting ones to Vlad. He liked things like this so he figured this would be a class he could pay attention in, and the teacher seemed nice enough. So they moved on to their next class. It was a new one, added just this year due to the change in student and staff policies. It was called mythology: fact and fiction. It was in a room not far from where the defense against the dark art classroom was. They all filed in quickly, finding seats near the door. This class seemed a little odd. At the front of the room stood two teachers, instead of only one. One was rather tall with blonde hair, and the other was somewhat taller than the first with brown hair.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to your mythology class," the second said greeting them in a soft tone, "My name is Professor Lupin."

"And mine is Professor Otis. As you've already notice, for this class, you will be have two teachers and not simply one," the first told them all with a friendly smile that caused many of the girls to begin giggling to each other, "In this class, we will be teaching you all the differences between fact and fiction in mythology. And not Greek mythology. I mean mythology about werewolves, Vampires, and such."

A girl, sitting up front with red hair pulled back into pigtails, raised her hand.

"Yes?" Otis asked.

"But Professor, isn't everything were hear about the true?" She asked half worriedly, half concededly looking around the room, unsure if everyone around her was human, "I mean vampires attack humans, as do werewolves! How can we allow them into our school? How can we tru-"

How many times had he heard this so far today? Otis cut off the girl's pompous ramblings in a gently tone covering the gaining irritation he was feeling every time he heard this, "But there's still more to them than that. And you will be learning this here throughout the year and much more."

Sensing Otis's growing irritation and the fact the girl was about to say something else on the topic, Lupin chose to intervene, "We're aware that this class may seem a bit similar to Hagrid's care of magical creatures class that you have either had or will have at some point today. But this class is a bit different and will examine similar topics from a different angle."

It was obvious that the new class was linked hand-in-hand with the new students this year that were part of the program. Vlad really didn't see the point in two classes so similar being taught separately, but it wasn't his place to question it. There was a reason.

Joss's eyes examined the blond man, Otis. There was something about him. Joss was almost sure he was a vampire but not completely positive. He was more human –like or better at blending in with humans than the average vampire. So he was no newly turned if he was a vampire; he had experience, not any easy target. Then the head of the Slayer's Society had told him: observe and report only. He would have to wait if Otis was a vampire he could deal with him later.

The remainder of the class passed rather quickly and soon they were headed to their next to final class divination with Professor Trelawney. One would be lying if they said she wasn't unique. The professor was a thin woman with over sized round, thick rim glasses than made her eyes appear at least five time their actual size and long, frizzy light colored hair. She seemed to have her sights set on Harry as she predicted he was going to die soon the moment he walked through the door.

Then she turned her attention to Vlad. Oh no… All Vlad could hope for was that she was a fraud, and she wasn't a real diviner. Or at the very least she would get nothing from him. She looked straight at his examining him in depth. But to Vlad, it felt more like she was looking through him than at him. Crap! He had a feeling she was the real thing. So as his only resort he tried desperately to shield his thoughts, just in case she could see those to. But he didn't know whether it would work or not; he never had to try to block his thoughts from anyone before.

"There's something different about you," she said quizzingly, "Who are you?"

"Uhh, Vlad Tod," he said nervously, pleading that she didn't know anything.

"I see," she replied expression softening. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "The most obvious interpretations of a foretelling aren't always the right ones."

With that she walked away from them to the front of the room, leaving Vlad standing confused on what she had meant by her statement. The others were calling him over to where they sat waiting for him, so he headed over to them, thankful that none of them had been close enough to hear what she had said.

"So what she predict for you?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh… same as you. Apparently I'll die soon too," Vlad lied, no one noticed.

They laughed slightly in their strange new teacher's expense. Soon they were headed back down the long stair case to their final class, flying lessons with Madame Hooch. This was what Vlad had been looking forward to all day, finally getting to try out flying. The six hurried out into the courtyard area where their lessons would take place. The teacher stood waiting for all the students to arrive in the center of the courtyard.

"Good Afternoon, I'm Madame Hooch. I'll be conducting your first year flying lessons. Considering the class title, you should get the gist of what you'll be doing in this class," She paused looking around at them, wearing a bright, "I know some of you have more experience than others, but I will not tolerate any mockery of others attempts or intended injury. From any of you." He expression changed from one of friendlyness to one that scream intimidation, not in this woman's presence would many of them have to courage or stupidity to do either of the things she mentioned.

"Now step up to the left side of a broom," she continued, "We'll be starting our lessons today. You will hold out your left hand above the broom and say 'up'." She demonstrated; the broom rose from the ground on her command to her hand, "Your turn."

They all began immediately to make attempt. Only a few succeeding with several tries. Harry's rose to meet his hand on the first try the others shot him looks of surprise and envy. He simply looked at it grinning with a slightly mystified expression. Vlad and Joss both managed on the second try, the other three also giving them similar looks. Henry, Hermione, and Ron continued to try. Ron actually getting smacked in the face by his broom, hard. The others couldn't help but to snicker at him. As he told them to shove off. Soon they also got their off the ground.

"Good. Now I want you all to give hovering a try," the instructor stated, once they all successfully got their brooms of the ground, "You will get on your brooms, kick off hover for a moment, and then you will touch back down. On may mark."She blew her whistle signally them to start.

They all hesitated, not wanting to be the first one to go. Suddenly a boy several people down from Vlad began to lift of the ground. The boy, Neville Longbottom, sped off into the air all the while screaming at his broom to go back down, but his pleas were to no avail as he flipped and spun in the air. Eventually the back of his clothes caught on a statue, high or the ground. His broom sped off without him, leaving him dangling in midair only to fall a moment later. His clothes caught again on an iron torch base on the side of the wall but only for a moment as he fell again this time landing on the ground. Madame Hooch ran over to him, checking on his condition. Lucky for him, due to the two catching him is injuries were reduced greatly. She took him to the hospital wing to have his broken arm treated warning all the other students that if she caught a single on in the air she would have them out of Hogwarts before they could say 'quittage'. And from her strict tone, they could tell she was serious.

As she left, Draco Malfoy decided to take that as a challenge, laughing at Neville and stating that he should have used his rememberall then maybe he would have remember to fall on his fat ass. Harry decided to intervene, telling Malfoy to give it back. Malfoy, of course, refused, taking off on his broom into the air. From the way he flew, it was obvious he had experience with flying. So then Harry too took off after him, ignoring Hermione's protests. Harry threatened to knock Malfoy off his broom if he didn't give it back. His first attempt failed.

"Have it your way," Malfoy told him smirking, as he threw the rememberall as hard as he could.

Harry didn't even hesitate as he sped off after it trying to catch it before it hit the castle wall; he was successful. Coming back down from the ground, his friends ran over to see him, cheering him on for his impressive catch but just then Professor McGonagall came toward them from within the castle. She had seen, and she wore a very serious expression on her face.

"Harry Potter! Follow me." She said. He froze for a moment unsure then trailed behind in defeat.

**That's it for now… I will update again soon. It won't be months but it won't be in like a few days… Well maybe if I can find the time though I make no promises. Hope you liked the chapter. To me, it seemed a bit bland, but the story will start to get more interesting soon. Also if you are wondering… Vlad doesn't know Otis is his uncle or even that he is a vampire yet. I didn't want him finding out too quick.**


	13. Desolate Night

**Here's chapter 13! **

**So this chapter is about what Snape wanted to talk to Quirrel about, if any of you were curious as to what they had discussed. This chapter starts out with a clip from the last one, in case anyone becomes confused. Hope you all like the chapter.**

The day passed slowly but soon the six we on their way to their next class, defense against the dark arts. That class took awhile to get to seeing as it was almost on the exact opposite side of the castle. They stumbled into one after another barely making it into the classroom before the time they would have become late. The teacher stood calmly at the front of the room waiting patiently for them all to enter and find their seats. The teacher was a rather lanky man who sported friendly, nervous eyes and a turban upon his head. Harry recognized him as the man he had met in the pub on his way to Diagon Alley, the Hagrid had introduced him to.

Once they had all reached their seat, he cleared his throat softly before speaking, "Uh, w-w-welcome to defense agains-st the d-d-dark arts. I'm P-p-professor Quirrell."

The man stumbled and stripped over with words as he spoke earning him some odd, confused looks from his student, as well as some snickers from others. The man was nervous, extremely so, that much was obvious by the way he carried himself and how he was stuttering more than normal.

"_There's something off about this guy," _Vlad thought to himself, as he examined the man's actions. He wasn't one to judge on looks and such, but there was something in his presents, Vlad could feel it in his bones. So with careful consideration, Vlad decided to try to look into to his mind. With a deep calming breath to focus himself, he pushed at the man's mental defenses only to fail completely but not before catch a glimpse of something he probably shouldn't have. What he saw sent shivers up his spines, such cold maliciousness, so much rage and cruelty. It wasn't some much that he had seen it as he had felt it, another consciousness living within the teacher, one that wanted nothing more than to watch as much pain and suffer as he could possibly manage.

He looked down at the desk in front of him as thoughts of what that could have possibly been passed through his mind. He tore his eyes from the desk to look back up at the teacher, only to find the teacher staring back at him with a fierce, cold, hard glare that probably meant death if he so much as breathed a word of what he had found to anyone. Vlad's breath caught in his throat. Had the teacher noticed him?

After a moment Vlad noticed that teacher wasn't looking at him at all but at something behind him. Slowly, uncertainly he turned around to peer behind him, only to find Snape standing in the door way of the classroom with a severely irritated expression on his face.

"May I have a moment of you time, _Professor_?" Snape asked with a bit to his voice.

"Certainly, Severus," Quirrell said expression changing to a friendly on once again as he made his way to the back of the classroom. Snape's right eye twitched slightly in irritation for having been address with his first name.

"A-all of you p-p-please kee-ep the noise down and s-s-stay in yo-our se-eats while I am g-gone," Quirrell said addressing the class before following Snape out the door and shutting it quietly behind him.

They walked a ways down the east corridor from his room footsteps echoing throughout the vacant, desolatecorrridor, until they reached a completely secluded area where their exchange of words would not be over heard. They both stopped in their tracks; Snape spinning on his heel to look at the man behind him. They stood merely staring each other down for a moment, before Quirrell chose to get the whole thing over with.

**(Note: I'm changing up Quirrell's personality with Snape a bit… in the movie[don't remember if the book was the same way] he stayed in his fake, weak persona, but not in this story)**

"What is it you wanted to discuss with me?" Quirrell ask feigning an innocently curious tone as best he could. But the façade was crumbling until there were no signs of it left, "I don't have time to waste with this bullshit right now."

Snape settled an unnerving glare that seemed to have little effect on the man before him. "Must you ask? You should know perfectly well what I want to _discuss_ with you. Tell me just what you three are planning," Snape demanded.

"And why exactly would I do that?" Quirrell now sported a dangerous smirk. It was only too obvious that the man had become much, much too conceited with his newfound importance, "You know very well that you can't do anything to harm me. _He _gave you very specific orders. And now your life and freedom rest in _my _hands." Quirrell walked around Snape piercing him with not only his words but also his gaze; it was like he was being dissected and examined by the man without actually being physically cut.

"_Shit," _was the only thought that came to Snape's mind at the moment. If only he had been more alert that night; if only he had paid better attention to his surrounding; if only he had been more prepared then maybe none of this would have happened. But regretting wouldn't fix anything. He was trapped; trapped between a rock and a hard place with no hope of escaping. It felt so suffocating and the helpless feeling began to over take him. He quickly suppressed the uprising emotions. He wouldn't lose here. This fight wasn't over yet, not by a long shot. He would keep fighting.

_**A few weeks prior, before the start of the new year**_

_It was late, extremely so. The sun had retired long ago leaving not a shred of light to anyone who may have still been out. But it seemed as though there was no one out. No one. Not one, save for one lone man with dark hair and clothing. His feet tapped softly on the stoned path he walked. It was the only sound that filled the dark, desolate area that had been engulfed by dead silence for hours leaving no trace of the hustle and bustle that had once been present. _

_It was a particularly ominous night. The sky was nothing but pitch black darkness. The moon and stars seemed to have been extinguished by an anonymous source. And the animals, even the nocturnal ones, were completely silent, as though something had frightened them off. But none of this seemed to bother the man as he calmly walked the path. He had something important to do, something that couldn't be postponed. It had to be done as soon as possible and hesitating and procrastinating wouldn't get the task done._

_The man made his way quickly down the long and winding road, stopping only once to check his pocket watch. He was making excellent time; at this rate he should arrive just in time for the meeting. But still he picked up his pace. He couldn't risk being even a moment late. This was, after all, a very crucial, top secret mission handed down to him by the headmaster himself. He had to succeed if he was ever going to show his worth and finish what he had started so many years before._

_Suddenly the man was snapped from his thought as he felt someone's eyes watching him, their eyes following his every movement, analyzing him. He showed no outward signs of his new internal revelation. But there was great turmoil brewing within his mind, his very soul. Their eyes were cold, calculating and it sent vibrant chills up his spine._

"_Shit! What does this mean? Has the mission been compromised?" He thought, horrified by the possibility, "Was this a set up? What am I supposed to do now? If I move for my wand, they might notice. But if I don't, I'll be practically defense less. What do I do? I'll have to be a discreet as possible."_

_He slowly and cautiously, trying his best not to make the movement anymore noticeable than necessary, reached for the wand hidden in his robes when suddenly he heard a voice from lest the a foot behind him say, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."_

_He was shocked that the person had gotten that close before he even noticed but the feeling wore of within a moment as he turned to attack his attacker, but just before he could, he felt teeth, fangs actually, piercing into the side of his neck, penetrating his fresh and cause his blood to flee his body. He could move he tried but found his strength being sucked away with his blood. Finally, just as he began to think he may truly die, the vampire released him. Snape stumbled slightly at the sudden freedom and turned to face the vampire._

_He stood there smirking at Snape as he whipped the remnants of the attack from his now fangless mouth. Snape suddenly snapped from the trace he hadn't even realized he had been put under and torn his wand out from within his robes and pointed it menacingly at the other. _

"_Who are you and what is your purpose?" Snape questioned pressing the wand into the man's chest obviously threatening him._

"_My name would be D'ablo. Pleased to make your acquaintance, new drudge. As for my purpose… well, I suppose you'll just have to wait for that answer."_

"_Drudge? What the hell's a drudge?" Snape questioned internally._

"_So you don't even know what a drudge is. And yes, I can read your thoughts. To put it simply it means, that no matter what I tell you to do or how much you may not want to, you have no choice. From now on, you obey my every command until, and if, I ever decide to release you. If you want to know why, brush up on you vampire facts a bit, eh professor? Oh, and before I forget, you will tell no one of this encounter, or the fact that you are now my drudge. You will also not harm me or anyone working with me that would include Quirrell and the deatheaters. And you will do whatever he orders you to so long as it benefits the cause."_

_And just like that D'ablo had vanished just as quickly as he had appeared. Now what? What was he supposed to do about this? He knew one thing though, even if the experience had been a bit nerve racking and had cause major damage to the little pride he had, he had to complete this mission, find out what was going, and if possible break the newly formed bond. He had to warn the others of the impending danger, let them know what was happening._

Feeling utterly defeated, he stood down. This fight wasn't over yet, not by a long shot he would break this bond, warn Dumbledore and the order, and kick Quirrell ass for being so cocky and just for the hell of it. The defeated feeling gave way to one of determination, anger, and desperation. He stepped away from the other man before promptly turning on his heel and leaving the area. He had work to do and not enough time to be wasting on a lost cause. He couldn't harm Quirrell and had to obey most of what he ordered, making interrogating him a lost cause. Suddenly, he had a plan on how to warn the order without actually warning them. It would involve further damage to his pride but for the sake of permanently killing the dark lord, it had to be done.

**So hope you enjoyed it. If you saw this turn of events coming… Then congratulations because it means you knew before I did. This chapter, like the entire story, is being made up as I go with no pre-planning involved at all. Well, please leave comments, they are greatly appreciated.**_ And Thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far!_


	14. To Whom Fate Dealt A Bad Hand

**Chapter 14! This chapter is also in case anyone was curious on how Trelawney knew about Vlad. It's not because the teacher were already told. Actually few of the teachers know that information at all. There is another reason and that is what this chapter is about.**

*****Also if any of you watch Dexter (by Showtime) you should read the new story I put up for that fandom.*****

Tomas Tod walked briskly through the streets which had been dyed red by the sun sinking slowly and gracefully below the horizon carrying his infant son, Vlad. The streets were crowded with those who were rushing to get their shopping done before the shops all closed up for the night. He pushed past the people quickly and with little trouble. He had to hurry; if Mellina found out, she'd be pissed beyond any form of rationality.

She may have his drudge and he may have been the vampire she had to obey, but when Vlad was involved, she became the one in charge. Tomas wasn't really sure what it was that caused it. Her naturally strong will? Her instincts as a mother? Her love for her son? He would never be completely sure, nor did it really matter, she wasn't going anywhere nor was Vlad. And only little things could she protest to and fight and only when Vlad was involved could she do it.

It was like he was her strength what kept her going and to fight her fate. He'd never understand humans. Not that he really tried or wanted to. All that mattered now was raising Vlad up to be what he was, the Pravus, the only vampire born of a human mother, immortal, and uncontradictable. He needed to visit this diviner he had heard such great tales about. Apparently she had been the one to predict the fall of Lord Voldemort and the one who would defeat him. She was good, possibly one of the best. She would be able to answer all the questions that had been plaguing him as of late.

He got her address from a friend of a friend, who had told her he would be coming to visit her. He was almost there, a few more streets and he would be at the start if his answers. Were the old legends true? Was Vlad the pravus? Just what would the child do with his life? What was Tomas's role in it all? He was getting desperate for answer to these questions. He had been asking them and others since Vlad's conception.

Finally, he reached his destination, Sybill Trelawney's home. **(note: in this story at the moment, she is about to move into Hogwarts but not yet)** It wasn't hard to find. It was a small home near the end of a small branch road. He stepped up to the door and knocked lightly, not hesitating for a moment. He would have no second thoughts. After a few moments that seemed much longer to him, Trelawney open the door hesitantly looking at the man before her.

"Hello, I'm Tomas Tod. I heard you were an experienced diviner. I was wondering if you could help me." Tomas told her in a reassuring, friendly tone.

**(Last note for this chapter I promise: in this she is aware of her prediction though I don't think she was in the original or at least didn't remember making them)**

"Oh-h, do come in" Trelawney replied softly as she opened the door for him to enter, realizing he was the one who was coming to see her, "I must warn you though... it can't be forced. They just come to me of their own accord. But… I may still be able to help you."

Tomas's heart sunk slightly at the possibility she may be useless to him. But there was still hope, "Will you tell me what you can see in my son's future?"

He pulled the blanket back a bit from the face of the sleeping child who was completely oblivious to what was happening around him. He stirred slightly before slowly opening his dark eyes to gaze at her.

Trelawney gazed back at the baby. He was very cute, cuter than a lot of babies she'd seen. She could tell he was calm. He slept through their entire meeting thus far and even now, remained quiet in this strange place he'd never been to before looking at a person he'd also never seen before. He giggled slightly freeing one of his small hands from the bundle to reach at her. He was also very kind and loyal she could see. He was also brave; that too she could read in him despite being only an infant who had yet to walk or talk. From what she could tell he would be a good-hearted person whom fate had dealt a bad hand.

"Well?" Tomas questioned impatiently.

"Humm… " Was her only reply to his question, or demand really. It was as though she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

Tomas waited from her to finish whatever it was she was doing exactly.

Trelawney could see the boy would have a harsh fate not only because he was the pravus but also because of the family he had been given. Trelawney was no fool even if she didn't act particularly knowledgeable. She could see the man had an alternative motive. His motive however was not relieved to her.

She knew the prophecy of the pravus. The vampire who would be born of a human mother, would be immortal and unable to be harmed by sunlight, would be able to control most living things, and would rule over all vampires as well as enslave all humans.

She didn't sense an evil or dangerous aura from the child instead she felt the typical pure and innocent heart of an untainted child. No. There was more to him and the prophecy than met the eyes. But what was the prophecy really saying? Yes, the child had been born of a human mother, or so she had been told. Immortal? Maybe, but that wasn't going to be test at least not by herself. That thought made her feel worry for the child she had only met today. Yes, there would be many who tried to test that one out.

As for being able to tolerate sunlight, that was plausible. He was after all also human. The human part of him would likely make him tolerant to sun unlike the rest of the vampire population. Controlling most living things? That was also possible a little less likely but possible. Vampires could already control a lot of humans especially if they had bitten the human. But the bite was unnecessary for the pravus should the story be taken as fact. As for the pravus ruling over all vampires and enslaving the human race, she wasn't really sure. She supposed it could be literal, or it could mean that he was powerful enough to control them all and maybe even at the same time. But was the child that powerful? No. Not yet, but maybe one day. He was already stronger than basically all children his age.

She could see one other thing in the boy besides his nature and her own suspicions. The boy had magic. Not the usually vampire magic. He had that and wizardry magic. The boy had strong core magic. She could feel that. He would be a strong child and an even stronger adult.

She sat back sighing tiredly and stressfully once she finished. She got no actual visions of the child's future but she had seen into his heart and shreds of his fate.

"So what did you see?" Tomas asked desperately.

"Not much, I'm afraid. But he will be very strong. His magic is very impressive, stronger than most his age. He will also be very brave and kind." She continued seeing a disappointed expression grace the man's features before being masked. " 'm sorry. That was all I really saw."

"Thank you for your help anyway," Tomas said defeated, preparing to leave, "Good night, ma'am."

"Good night to you as well," She responded seeing him to the door, "May the spirits guide you, child." She said the last part more to herself than anyone else as father and son reentered the outside world.

She shut the door after she had seen them off. She had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she saw that boy.

"May they be wrong about you," she said finally, her words falling on deaf ears. She sighed heading into the kitchen. It had been an eventful night, and she felt the desire for some tea to relax herself better.

As Tomas left the woman's house, he got the distinct impression that she had more information that she had no intention of telling him. He figured even if he asked she wouldn't tell him and that she didn't trust him. But he now knew one thing Vlad was powerful as he had expected, as he had hoped. As for the rest of his questions, there was no need to rush. He could take it all one step at a time and plan each move thoroughly and perfectly. His plan wouldn't fail, couldn't fail. It was just a matter of time.


	15. Memorable Student

_Important note: _**Sorry, I know it's been over a month since my last update, but I'm being buried alive with homework and projects. But I finally managed to finish chapter 15… I'd say the story is almost half done. But like I said before even if it takes a long time, I'll complete the story eventually. So here's the new chapter…**

**Also earlier on some people suggested that I make Vlad's mom a witch too (I went through the reviews again but I can't find you! If you said something like that to me before you can let me know if you want.) Originally, I wasn't going to but I changed my mind because it seemed like a good addition, like I said before I'm making this story up as I go with no preplanning involved whatsoever.**

_Important_**- ***Chapter 13 & 14 were in depth looks at some events in chapter 12… This chapter picks up where chapter 12 left off with McGonagall dragging Harry off*****

Looking around anxious as the head of their house dragged their heroic friend off, thoughts of what tragedy may soon befall him filled their now burdened minds. What were they all supposed to do now? Their instructor had just taken an injured, traumatized Neville to the hospital wing, and McGonagall had just taken Harry off to be dealt with accordingly for his disobedience. What would happen to him now? Would they seriously expel him? He hadn't done anything wrong; he had only been trying to do the right thing. And yet there he was about to suffer what Hermione would consider a fate worse than death.

All the students glance around nervously and awkwardly more concern with the fact that they might be scolded for not stopping their classmate than what would actually happen to said classmate. The five turned their expressions of blame and anger onto the cause of the current situation, though the cause seemed completely unfazed. He didn't seem to give a damn that he had just probably cause their friend to be expelled from school and likely given the rest of the class enough detentions to last the rest of their lives. In fact, he seemed immeasurably proud of himself, as though he had just single handedly won the house cup. He had just gotten his now sworn enemy reprimanded while not suffering any consequences himself for his own actions. His lingering jealousy and anger toward the fact that Harry had rejected his friendship developed into an immense distaste for the boy, and he seemed to be seeking vengeance.

Soon their flight instructor returned, and she ordered her students back into lines. As they reformed the line they had been in before the incident occurred, she noticed someone was missing a side from Neville. Looking around she noticed that it was the Potter boy whom was missing.

"Where's Harry Potter?" She inquired, shooting the class an expecting expression filled with great suspicion.

No one answered; no was foolish enough, or truly brave enough to tell her the tale of what she had missed during her trip to the hospital wing. They were nervous and blatantly terrified of the consequences they have been facing for actions that were not their own. Madam Hooch examined all their statures and expressions carefully; clearly they were all hiding something. And none of them were willing to tell her. She didn't know whether to dub them cowards or simply children. Either way, she needed the answer as to where her student had disappeared to.

"Madame," one child finally worked up the courage to tell her the full story of what had come to pass in her absence. She told her swiftly and quietly; her voice hitting new highs under the influence of her nervousness and new found docility. She even told the instructor about Malfoy's actions and how he had instigated the situation though she received some glares and threatening looks from Malfoy and his lackeys.

"I see," Madame Hooch said in contemplation. She would have to speak to Minerva later about what had truly happened, and there was also the matter of the Slytherin boy's transgressions, "Alright. Class, you are dismissed for today. We will pick the lesson up here tomorrow. Except you, Mr. Malfoy. I would still like to have a word with you."

Everyone scurried off in random directions, grateful to have escaped punishment. The group of five hesitated for a moment in the confusion and havoc their classmates were now creating, before speeding off in the direction Professor McGonagall and Harry had left in. They were anxious to find him. After all, they may have been cleared from punishment, but he hadn't been. He was still in just as much trouble as he had been before Madame Hooch's return. They rounded infinitely many corners while ascending and descending even more numerous staircases in search of their friend, and thus far they had been unable to locate him. They had yet to see any sign of him. They had even asked several students, teachers, and ghosts if they had seen him. They came back empty-handed thus far. They were so desperate they even asked Peeves, which they quickly came to regret. However despite all their efforts they were still unable to locate him. They were swiftly becoming more and more worried and fearful.

"This is becoming rather ridiculous," Henry said loudly in an exasperated tone.

"What's ridiculous?" a voice sounded from a few feet behind them causing them to jump in suprise. Spinning around they all came face to face with the very person they had been searching for.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in relief, "Are you alright? What happened? What did McGonagall say? Did she take you to-?"

"Hermione, I'm fine."Harry said quickly stopping her barrage of questions instantaneously, "Really. I haven't been expelled or anything."

"Well, that's a relief, but you still haven't answered my questions." She shot back matter-of-factually.

And so Harry went on to explain briefly everything that had happened, about how McGonagall had taken him to see Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, and about how he was their new seeker.

"Wow," Vlad said, a bit impressed if he were to be honest. He didn't know much about quidditch, but it sounded like a pretty fun game and for Harry to have been recruited, he must have been something.

"That's amazing, Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

"Congratulations, Harry," Joss said smiling sincerely.

Henry nodded in agreement, "I've never heard of a first year making the team before."

"They have," Hermione retorted, "it's just doesn't happen often."

"McGonagall said I was the youngest player in a century," Harry said somewhat nervously, "But I think that'll only raise the expectations. I mean what if I'm awful, or I freeze up and loose our house the game."

"You won't." Hermione reassured him knowingly.

"What makes you so sure?" Ron asked her, raising an eyebrow questioningly, "What if catching that remembral was just luck?"

Hermione rolled her eyes slightly at him and motioned for them to follow her. They didn't travel far before they came to cases filled with trophies and awards to students for different accomplishments at Hogwarts. She guided them through a little ways before stopping in front of a smaller sized case and pointed in at a plaque in the case, on it was Harry's father's name. He had also been a seeker during his time at Hogwarts. Harry looked in at it, mystified.

While the others examined and talked about the plaque, Vlad slowed before them to look at the awards and read some of the names and reasons for the award. He gave some more attention than other, but he stopped suddenly as he stared in at an award near the one that all the others were gathered around. The year was one year before he was born, 1979. He read the name over and over again, and yet he still couldn't wrap his mind around it. It simply wasn't possible. On the plaque was his mother's maiden name Mellina Anderson.

He peered at the award. There was always the possibility that it wasn't really her. That it was another girl with the same name and the same age with connections to the wizarding world. The more and more he examined the similarities, the likelihood of her being anyone but his mother became less and less. But won't this be something they would have told him? Then again they had hidden the whole pravus thing from him as well, though that was probably in his best interest not to know. But this was something he had to know; he needed some kind of confirmation. So he asked the closes person who may have some answers for him.

"Uh Hermione?" Vlad called her, hesitantly, "Do you know who this girl is? The name sounds familiar."

"Who?" she asked walked over to him.

He pointed to his mother's name in response.

"You mean Mellina Anderson," she told him as she looked in at the plaque. He detected a distinct lack of surprise in her voice.

"She's famous around here," she continued, "I'd honestly be surprised if you had never heard of her."

"Well, I've never heard of her."

"Me either."

"Neither have I."

She looked at them all half surprised, half expecting that response.

"I've heard of her," Ron said.

She gave a look of pure shock in his direction.

"What? I know some things, y'know! Especially someone like her."

"I'm impressed, Ron," she told him honestly, before turning back to Vlad to answer his question, "Mellina was a student here before any of us were born. She excelled greatly in academics, and the only thing about her more impressive than her O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores, were her skills in quidditch. She is said to the greatest chaser Hogwarts ever saw. No one's ever broken her records, or scored as many point as her in a game, and her team won nearly every game during her last year. Everyone expected her to join one of the major teams after graduation.

But that same year, right before the final game, she disappeared. No one knows what really happened to her. All her year-mates said they had seen her earlier that day and all her belonging were left behind exactly the same as they usually were, without a single item missing. It was as if she had simply vanished, leaving no trace or hint as to where she had gone behind."

They all listened intently to her throughout her tale, gradually becoming more immersed in it. Vlad felt an uneasiness settle in his stomach as she finished speaking. The possibilities and the fears rampaging through his mind; he didn't want to hear anymore. His mother had simply vanished? Why? What role had his father played in it?

"So what did happen to her?" Joss asked her, hunting for answers. It could be something important that could help further his research in the school. There was a possibility vampires were involved as they often were in mysterious disappearances.

Hermione sighed. "No one knows for sure. There are rumors and theories though I don't particularly believe any of them," she paused for a moment looking around at her intent listeners.

"_If only they were this interested in their school work…"_

"Some say she ran off with another student though other would argue it was a teacher. Another rumor is that Mellina went into the Forbidden Forest on a dare and never came out. There are many ideas; some more farfetched than others. However, I find this one to be the least unlikely.

A few, though only a few, believe that she was actually taken by a radical vampire to be the mother of the pravus. Though I will admit, it has been a popular practice throughout history for vampires that believed that they were entitled to ruling over humans and other magical creatures. But even with that being true, the events aren't connected, and there is no actual proof that it's true."

Vlad remained silent staring in at the award in the case that had brought about his questions. He was beginning to wonder why he had asked. He should have learned by now that questions about his life only brought about answers like this that made him feel as though his very existence shouldn't be. Without even being aware of it, he may have caused his mother to suffer a terrible fate. But if that were true what did it mean for the life he had lived so far and the father who had raised him until one year prior. Had everything been one big lie?

No. That didn't have to be true there was still the possibility that his parents had truly loved each other and that she had run to be with him, that she loved him as her son as well. And so that array of hope he would hold onto and use as a life line if he needed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's name, to look at the others.

"Thanks, Hermione. I was just curious. I'm a bit tired so I think I'll turn in early. See you all back at the common room," Vlad told them before heading back to his room. He needed someone to talk to, someone who knew his parents well from before he was born; he needed to talk to Nelly. He would have to write her a letter. It had been awhile since he had last written her anyway, and she would probably reprimand him from not writing more often.

Hermione watched Vlad go, analyzing his reaction to everything. What she had seen, only served to raise her suspicions of him. He wasn't a good liar; in fact he was awful at it. He hadn't just heard the name mentioned. And what was with all the contemplation and emotions playing in his eyes? He was more than familiar with the name; it was likely he was familiar with the person behind it as well. He must have known her well and the truth shocked him.

She wondered if she should be digging at him like this. She wanted her answers, that was true enough, but she also wanted his friendship. If she were to be honest, he was nothing like what she would have expected of a future tyrant. He was a very kind and caring person, more so than most, and he seemed very complicated to. It was then that she decided that if she were to find that he was, in fact, the pravus, she would go straight to him about it and no one else. She would tell no one if he minded, it was his secret after all.

Henry watched his friend go with a feeling of worry weighing on him. Vlad was his best friend, had been since they were eight, and he didn't like to see him like that. But things were getting complicated and he knew Vlad. At times like this, he needed his space and time to sort things out. He would have time to talk to him later about everything.

As Vlad walked toward Gryffindor tower, he could feel the others' eyes on his back, watching him go. But he didn't stop or look back; he simply kept walking. It had been a long first day, and he felt the need for sleep take over. He thought he would be hungry due to the smaller amounts of blood he had now, but he wasn't. In actuality, he felt a bit sick even after he had tried to bat away his suspicions and fears.

As he reviewed the day's events in his mind, he heard a voice call out behind him, "Vlad."

He stopped walking and turned to find one of the mythology professors, Mr. Otis standing behind him.

"Could I have a word with you?"

**And that's it for now. I'll try to update sooner next time. I know I take forever to update, but there are people who update less often than me. Well, hope everyone had a good thanksgiving, and please leave a review before you go. =)**


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